Booyakasha!
by Annie the awesome
Summary: Ara was a normal girl. That is untill one day she found something that changed her life forever, a broken canaster... Warning: Despite the extra character I added, this story is based on the nickalodeon version, so if you don't watch those episodes, you may get a little confused.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, Everyone! This is my 1st fan fiction, so I am really excited. This first chapter does not have Leo, Donnie, Raph, or Micky in it, but it is a good set up for the chapters to come. This fan fiction is based on the 2012 TMNT series, but I decided to throw in an extra character, just for fun. All comments are appreciated. Enjoy! (Not sure if this is required, so just in case, I do not claim any part of this story. All rights reserved for nickelodeon, etc.)

Chapter 1- Ara

Ara Felrane sat at her desk, drumming her fingers impatiently. Ten minutes to last period, then another agonizing forty minutes, and then freedom. Well, if you could call it that. When you live at Bruskwier Deluxe Orphanage House for Young Ladies, there is no freedom. But at least in after school hours, you don't just sit at a desk, trying to memorize date after tiring date of events that happened during the French Revolution. Uggggggg! High school was harder than she had expected.

Being a freshman, just turned 15, she found it hard to believe that they expected you to do all this work. It almost made her wish that she had been shipped off to one of those horrible orphanages like the ones you read about in books. At least then there would be less homework, and more REAL work. Ara wasn't the type of girl who was afraid of getting her hands dirty. After all, her late father had been a Japanese ninjetsu master.

Ara's mother had died when she was a baby, and her father had from that day on been very protective of his little girl. He had taught her everything he knew about self-defense. Most little girls asked for Barbies, she asked for weapons. And her father was not one to refuse her. They were wooden at first, of course, but Aar had never forgotten that feeling of sheer joy when she had received her first real sword on her 10th birthday. Her father had taught her not only how to use weapons, but also stealth and barehanded combat. Despite all this, Ara had lead a normal life, going to fairs and zoos, and…. Ara was rudely interrupted from her memories by the loud ring of the bell. She snatched up her books and hustled out the door in a dazed state, still meditating on the past. She absent-mindedly bumped into a girl in the hallway.

"Hey, what's you problem?" a loud voice bellowed. Ara looked up in surprise, blinking. A huge girl advanced towards her, scowling and punching her fist into her palm. "Do you have eyes in that little head of yours? Or do you just like bumping into people for kicks?"

"Sorry…" Ana murmured, "I didn't mean to…"

"Yeah right, you little weasel! Someone otta teach you a lesson." Ana turned around and walked away, calling over her shoulder, "I don't want to fight." "Too bad!" The girl grabbed hold of Ara's shoulder, spinning her around. The next thing Ara knew, a fist was flying towards her face. With a speed not much slower than lightning, Ara snatched the hand at the last moment, and using the girl's momentum, thrust her over her shoulder and crashing to the ground. The bully lay still, knocked out.

"Boy, that felt good" Ara murmured with satisfaction. As of late she had had nothing for targets besides the air and her pillow. But in a moment, the realization of what she had done hit her with the force of a hurricane. She glanced around to find every set of eyes focused on her, every mouth ajar. A few teachers were peering out of their classrooms in shocked silence. Ara stood for a moment, frozen in place, and then she turned and ran. She didn't know where, she just…. ran. Through the orphanage doors, over the huge surrounding fence, (Ha, didn't know I could do that, did you, superintendant?) and into the street. Tears of shame streaked down her cheeks. Hadn't her father taught her to control her temper? Couldn't she have simply blocked the punch and continued walking? But no, she had to lose it and let the ninja inside her break loose. Even if that move HAD been basic 101, she still had shown her teachers that she was different, and dangerous. Her father would have been sooo mad... that thought jolted her. Her father... her father… her sweet, loving, skilled, long-suffering, gentle father. The father who was gone… who was gone… Ara sat down heavily and cried.

This was the first time she had cried over her father. When she had learned about his death, she had built armor around herself, not thinking about him. It was her way of trying to heal. But it was a shaky, unstable armor. The second she really thought of him, it all came down in a collapsed heap. Ara sat and cried until she had no tears left. It felt good, as if she had just let out a breath she had been holding for eternity. Wiping her eyes, Ara stood up and looked around. She was in an ally full of trashcans. So what now? Ara thought in dismay. She looked around her and sighed. "Well, I better head back." She said to no one imparticular. She cringed to think of what they might do back at the orphanage. It was times like these that made her thank heaven that she WAS sent to The Bruskwier Deluxe Orphanage House for Young Ladies (let's just call it the B.D.O.) instead of another one.

As Ara turned to go, a little light shimmering off a piece of broken glass caught her attention. She turned and squatted down to see what it was. It turned out to be a broken canister, cut through the middle. It was completely empty save for about three tablespoons worth of green, glowing ooze at the bottom. Being the detective she was, Ara picked up the cracked canister and slid it into one of her large coat pockets. Then she turned for home… or at least her… living space. An hour and three inquires for directions later, (see what comes of blindly running to no place imparticular?) Ara quietly climbed up the large fence surrounding the orphanage, jumped down, scaled up the building's wall, and climbed into her open window, all without making a sound or being noticed.

Her room was strangely quiet and empty. She supposed the head superintendent had not wanted to make a fuss, and had thought that she would eventually come home … but hadn't reckoned that she would stealthily climb up a wall. Ara headed to the tank on her desk that held her most prized possession- her turtle Pebbles. She stroked her old pet fondly, refilled it's food dish, and sat down on the floor of her room, pulling a trunk out from under her bed. On the trunk was one word: Ninja. She opened it with a loud creak and winced. No one heard, so she began sorting through her things.

Most of the contents were weapons, but there were also some knee protectors and other gear. She needed a little comport tonight, so she strapped and wrapped all her old gear on and at last picked up her last ninja apparel; grinning fondly and thinking of all the memories it held. In her hand was a soft green mask her father had bought her for a surprise when she had been sick, a long time ago. She had always wanted one. Ara stood up, went to the long mirror in her room, and tied it on. The light green mask only covered the area around her eyes, and she thought it looked a bit silly and babyish now, but she didn't care. Right now, she just wanted to feel something familiar.

Suddenly she remembered the broken canister in her pocket and drew it out. She scraped the contents out of the canister and onto her desk with a letter opener. Ara gazed at it expectantly, half expecting it to leave acid hole. Nothing happened. Since it seemed harmless, Ara stuck a stray pencil into the goop, pulled it out, and inspected it. Hesitantly she scraped a bit of the pencil with the very tip of her fingernail, as a test. Little droplets of goo covered the nail, but it did nothing. Ara rubbed the tiny droplets from her fingernail onto the skin of her finger, but she didn't feel anything. No tingling, notta. Ara, growing bold, scraped all the goo off the desk and onto her hand. 'Interesting.' Ara thought to herself, scratching her head with her free hand. "Pebbles, what do you think?" Ara turned to her pet, musing over the ooze.

But what she saw made her jump up and run to the tank. Pebbles was lying on his back, his breathing shallow and quick. In sheer panic, Ara snatched the sick old turtle up into her hand… and the goop. Ara stared as the turtle struggled to breathe, and then stopped. Pebbles was… dead! So was her father, and everyone she cared about… the school was going to kill her and… Ara collapsed on her bed, not being able to take the day anymore. She was soon fast asleep.

When Ara opened her eyes a few hours later, the sun was setting. She looked at the clock in her room- 7:00. She sleepily sat up and stretched, but froze as soon as she gazed into the mirror. Ara was a turtle! Blinking in horror, Ara stumbled back, tripping and landing on the floor with a crash. But surprisingly, this did not hurt in the least, as her shell… wait, her shell? Ara struggled and lashed about wildly, taking in her green, almost scaly skin, strong shell and breastplate, and her three fingered hands.

This was all one bad dream. It had to be. But then Ara remembered the glowing ooze and picking up her dying turtle, and then she knew. Knew that this wasn't just some horrifying dream… it was reality. Closing her eyes, Ara sank to the ground and took three deep breaths, which turned into five deep breaths, which turned into ten. She tried to calm her racing mind, fighting hard to keep her composure as her father had taught her to do under every circumstance. But there was no way he could ever have predicted THIS.

When she felt she could trust herself, Ara opened one eye and looked at herself in the mirror. It wasn't all that bad, she thought. Let's try to keep this whole thing positive. She actually looked kind of cool with all her gear on, and the green mask contrasted wonderfully with her new darkish green skin. Then she noticed something: turtles apparently don't have hair. She snatched up a white knitted hat and placed it on her head. Better. This made her snort with laughter. To think that she was worrying about her looks at a time like this.

'I've got to get out of here' Ara thought suddenly. One thing was certain, she couldn't stay. Not now. Without further thought, Ara climbed out of her window and over the fence. She then dashed under the shadow of a building, her heart pounding. It wasn't until then that she realized that she had left her case full of weapons in her room. But it was too late to go back now. Where could she go? Nowhere in the city was safe. She would make a scene wherever she went. Her eyes strayed to a manhole leading to the sewers. 'Don't even think about it' she told herself. No way. But what other option did she have? No one could be down THERE.

Sighing, Ara slipped off the heavy cover and dropped easily inside. The bottom was made of thin metal. Ara started off, knowing she had no other choice. She kept walking through many twists and turns until she realized this was crazy. She couldn't live in the sewers! There was no food! No water! But it was too late. She had already lost her way. With a sigh, Ara trudged on. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't see the hole in front of her until it was too late. With a cry, Ara fell through the hole and landed belly first on some sort of bottom. Everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Donnie

"Mikey! What the heck are you doing?" Raph shouted at the orange ninja turtle, throwing his hands in the air.

"Uh, making pizza?" Mikey gulped sheepishly. "You want some?"

The four brothers were in the living room, and Raph, the ninja with the red mask, as tough as stone with a good heart covered by sarcasm and temper, Donnie, the turtle in purple, and Leo, their caring and capable leader in blue, were all watching Mikey struggle to make something that might have resembled a pizza, if you squinted and looked hard enough. Mikey was the ninja turtle in orange, and whatever he lacked in smarts and attention span he made up for with his huge heart. (Not to mention impressive ninja skills.)

"You call that a pizza?" Raph snorted. "And to answer your question, I'll pass. Getting food poisoned wasn't on my list of things to do when I woke up this morning."

"I don't want to hurt you feelings, Mikey." Leo said, wrinkling his nose. "But that looks more like a dead rat than a pizza."

Mikey sniffed, obviously hurt. "Well, I think it looks fine." April said, just walking into the room. April, unlike all the others present, was a normal girl of 16, whom Donnie had a crush on. She had met the turtles when they rescued her from a group of advanced Aliens, called the Krang. Her father was taken, and they had not been able to rescue him. April was intent on getting him back, and was willing to do whatever it took to do so.

"It doesn't look all that bad" Donnie chimed in, quickly agreeing with April.

Mikey's eyes lit up and he dashed to April, eyes shining. "Want to try some?"

April looked sick. "Err… well… I just ate. I'm not that hungry."

"Oh." Mikey sighed and sat down. "I'll eat it all myself, then." He took a huge bite and turned a little greener than he had been before. Opening his eyes wide, Mikey rushed out of the room, leaving his three brothers howling with laughter. Splinter, their sensei, (A mutated rat) walked in to see what all the laughter was coming from. The three turtles quickly calmed down and were silent, save for a few stray giggles here and there.

"What is all this commotion?" Splinter asked, annoyed. "Can a person have any peace in this madhouse?"

Mikey picked this time to return to the room, holding his stomach. "Uggg" He groaned, collapsing on the couch. "I'm never eating pizza again."

This caught Donnie's attention. "Really?" he asked in surprise. "You actually mean that?"

Donnie couldn't imagine Mikey not eating pizza. He practically lived on the stuff. Mikey considered for a moment, then broke into a pained grin. "Let me rephrase. I meant I'll never eat pizza that came from an oven YOU MADE ever again."

Donnie put his hands on his hips. "This has nothing to do with that oven!" He snapped.

"Yes, it does!" Mikey shouted. "You don't think I know how to make a decent pizza? I am the PIZZA EXPER..."

"ENOUGH!" Splinter roared, putting his hands on his ears. "Since you all have so much energy to burn, I suggest you go and clean your rooms." This produced groans all around, but Splinter went on. "A sanitary home is a happy one."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Would this be a good time to point out that we live in a sewer?"

Splinter ignored him. "And I need someone to fix that hole in the roof that Mikey made with his rocket."

At that moment, a huge green blur fell from the ceiling with a cry, and everyone leaped back to avoid getting hit. Donnie blinked in astonishment. It was a mutant turtle, just like him and his three brothers. The turtle was sprawled shell-up on the floor, motionless. "What the…" Leo's words faded off as they all stared at the fallen turtle.

"What IS that?" Mikey asked.

"Well… it's obviously a turtle." Raph murmured.

"Is it… dead?" April squeaked out.

Leo was the first to move. He advanced slowly, as if afraid the turtle would jump up and bite him. "Careful, Leo!" Splinter cautioned.

"Yah, OK." Leo murmured, not taking his eyes off the creature. He knelt down beside it and put a cautious finger on its neck, checking for a pulse. "It's alive all right." He informed them. "But I think it's knocked out."

"No, really?" Raph snorted, but then was silent. "Do you think it's all right?" He whispered.

"I…I think so." Leo answered. He gently turned the turtle over. "It's…a girl." April gasped. Donnie nodded. There was something very feminine in the shape of her face, and her arms were thinner than theirs, a bit less… muscley. She groaned softly, shifting her head. By now, the other three had inched forward, looking at the turtle with interest.

Mikey turned to Splinter. "Can we keep her?" he gushed, giving him puppy eyes. "Pleeese can we keep her?"

"Mikey, Shut it!" Raph hissed, conking him on the head. The turtle's eyes fluttered open, quickly going from tiny slits to huge circles of surprise. She sat up and scooted backwards, feeling along the floor for a non-existent weapon.

"No, no! It's OK!" four sets of hands reached out in reassurance. She stopped for a moment, scanning their faces, and then she looked at herself, and her eyes seemed to cloud over with memory.

"Do you think she can talk?" Mikey whispered uncertainly.

The girl now looked slightly amused. "Yes, I can talk. At least, last time I checked." She stood up, seeming to know that she could trust them, rubbing her head to soothe her small headache and to make sure her hat was still on. It was. "Hi," She said, sticking her hand out to Leo. "My name is Ara."

"Err… I'm Leonardo." He replied, taking her hand. "But, uh, you can call me Leo, if you like."

She turned to Raph, who raised his hand casually in greeting. "My name is Raphael, and you can call me Raphael, too, until I make sure your cool. This earned him a hard jab in the ribs from Leo.

Ara turned to Donnie, and if she was a bit shaken from that last introduction she didn't show it. "Hey, I'm Donatello, but I like to be called Donnie." He said, then turned to the couch where April and Splinter were sitting, and blushed a little. "That's April. Uh, not the rat, the girl. And the rat's Splinter. He's our sensei." Ara gave a smile to April, and then gave a slight bow to Splinter when she learned he was a sensei.

This done, she fixed her eyes on Mikey, who was figiting impatiently, waiting for his turn. "Hi! I'm Michelangelo, but that's a pretty long name, so you can call me Mikey!" he chirped, happy to finally speak. "I like pizza, arcade games, and comic books. I'm 15, and so are they" He said, gesturing to his brothers. He started counting off facts with his fingers. "I know ninjetsu, I have some really cool nunchucks, and I know how to speak Japanese AND English, so I guess that makes me bilingual. He continued, speaking 500 words a minute. "And as a word of advise, never eat something that came from an oven Donnie made. It's dangerous!"

Donnie slapped his forehead. "Donnie is a genius with electronics and stuff, or at least he thinks he is." Mikey continued, grinning. "Donnie also has a huge crush on that girl April over there, and…" At this, Donatello leaped up, putting a hand over Mikey's mouth. "There you have it." Raph said, rolling his eyes. "Mikey's life story."

"Boys! Enough introductions! Splinter interrupted. "All of you sit down. "I believe our new acquaintance has a story to tell.

"Sorry, Master Splinter," Donnie protested. "But don't we already KNOW her story? He turned to Ara. "Let me guess, you were a turtle, and then you came across this ooze, and then presto, you're a… turtle humanish creature, right? "

"Actually, no." Ara said, wrinkling her brow. When I woke up this morning, I was a normal human. Like April." At this, every head in the room snapped up in surprise. Ara sat down on a couch, beginning her story. She started with her father's death and ended with dropping through the ceiling, but left out her knowing ninjetsu, though she wasn't quite sure why. When she finished everyone was silent, each thinking his or her own thoughts. Ara pulled her knees up to her chin uncertainly. "What do I do now? I can't just… cruise down the street anymore. There's nowhere to go… and I don't know what to do."

Mikey's head jerked up, and he turned eagerly to Splinter. "Can we kee…"

"You will stay with us." Splinter said without hesitation before Mikey could finish. "Any other course of action is out of the question. You may have the extra room. April will show you." He left the room, giving Ara no time to thank him or protest. Everyone was still for a moment, and then April rose off the couch.

"Well, I guess I'll show you the room" she said, smiling at Ara. Ara got up and followed April out the door, leaving the brothers alone to think.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey, guys! Here is Chapter 3. This one takes place about 2 days after Ara "drops in" on them. Enjoy, and pleeeese let me know what you think! ;) _

Chapter 3-Leo

Leo was in a spaceship, his arms crossed behind his back thoughtfully, gazing at the stars through thick glass. It was a beautiful night, the stars shinning at their brightest. The scene was so majestic, it almost made him forget the looming problem he was caught in. Almost.

"Lieutenant Leonardo?" Leo turned to see a man standing at attention. "Yes?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Captain Ryan wishes to speak with you." The man said crisply, saluting. "Please tell him I will be there in a moment." Leo answered, starting to turn back to his view. "Err, Captain Ryan also wished me to inform you that the matter is quite pressing." The man added uncomfortably, shifting in his place ever so slightly. Leo sighed, turning back around. "Very well then, lead the way." Though his words were casual, Leo's heart thumped in his chest, and he cleared his throat nervously.

He was lead down several hallways and ushered into a large room, the doors clicking shut behind him. Captain Ryan was sitting behind a desk, waiting for him. He gestured for Leo to take the seat opposite of him. Leo did so, trying to hide his shaking hands. Captain Ryan crossed his hands seriously on the desk in front of him and said quietly, "Leo, you have been slacking off the job lately. And I don't like slackers." Leo opened his mouth to speak, but Captain Ryan held up a hand to shush him. "All day, you do nothing but pick your toenails. It's really disgusting. And your horrible habit of throwing wet toilet paper on the ceiling is getting really annoying. One glob hit me in the head yesterday." Captain Ryan rubbed his head, looking hurt. "And really?" He continued, shaking his head. "Filling the employee's vanilla pudding cups with mayonnaise? That is just plain immature. I thought better of you than that."

Leo hung his head. "I am afraid this calls for serious punishment." Captain Ryan said gravely. "You are hereby sentenced to do a week doing whatever Raphael pleases." Captain Ryan intoned. "By the way, he wants you to rub his feet right now." "WHAT?" Leo screeched as he awoke with a start. He sat up in bed to find Raphael smirking by his bedside and Mikey howling with laughter behind him. "And that." Raphael said, turning to Mikey with satisfaction, "Is how you give Leo a nightmare."

Mikey's laughs increased. "You shoulda seen you face!" he gasped, struggling for air. "Raph went up an' started whispering all these things in your ear in his Captain Ryan voice. Stuff about wet toilet paper and rubbing his feet. You started shaking you head, and your face was…SO HILARIOUS!" Mikey finished. "Dude, If only you could've seen it!"

"Ah, don't worry about that, Mikey!" Raph said, standing up and patting Mikey's shoulder. "I recorded to whole thing. It's all RIGHT HERE." He grinned, holding up a camera. Leo froze. "Why you..." he leaped up at Raph in a flying tackle. Raph dove to the side just in time, holding the camera safely above his head. In a moment, Leo was up again, chasing after Raph. He had nearly reached him when Raphael turned and chucked the camera at Michelangelo. "Go long, Mikey!" Mikey caught the camera, but backed up a little too far and crashed into Splinter, who was just walking into the room. Splinter and Mikey toppled to the ground.

Leo and Raph were over in a flash, helping them up. Leo quickly grabbed the fallen camera and slipped it behind a plant. He would delete the video later.

Splinter brushed himself off, frowning down at the three turtles kneeling meekly on the floor, heads bowed. He couldn't help but smile to himself. Kids.

Leo glared over at Raph, who returned to favor. "I am going to choose not to ask you were doing." Splinter said. "I need you all to head over to April's house. If you don't, she's sure to come over here by herself. I would prefer she had escorts. The sewer can be a brutal place. You may go."

The three brothers shot up, Mikey calling out: "Donnie! Where are you? We're going to go get your GIRLFREIND, if you want to come!" Donatello emerged from his workshop, a crimson blush spreading across his face. "She's not my girlfriend." He muttered, picking up his staff from where it lay and sheathing it. "Let's go." They walked out of the room, following the much-used stretch of sewers leading to April's house.

Raphael turned to Mikey as they walked. "So…where'd you put the camera?" Mikey rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Uh, I was going to ask you the same question." Leo grinned, but then stopped in his tracks. He held up a hand to shush Raphael, who was busy shouting in Japanese at Mikey.

"Wait, did you here that?" Leo asked. The next thing he knew, the back of his head was on fire and he crumpled to the ground, losing conciseness. _

"Leo? Leo! Can you hear me? Come on, wake up!" Leo was vaguely aware that he was in an upright position, and something was cutting at his arms, as if holding him upright. Someone was franticly kicking at his ankle, urging him to waken. But as hard as he tried, Leo just couldn't bring himself to open his eyes.

A hard, pole-like thing crashed roughly into his plastron, knocking the air out of him. "Hey! Get your dirty robot hands off my brother!" This was Raph's voice, and it was coming from right beside him. "Oof!" This was Raph again. Wait?! Were they hurting him? Shaking his head free off the darkness, Leo slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head. He was tied to some kind of pole along with his brothers, thick ropes binding them in place. A group of about twenty Krang robot aliens were circled around them, holding guns.

"Leo! You're awake!" Raph and Donnie cried out gleefully in union, sounding relieved. "Wait, Leo's awake?" Mikey was on the opposite side of the pole, and he couldn't see anything that was happening on Leo's end. "The Krang came up behind us and knocked us out." Donnie explained. "Then they tied us up. But you were out for a long time. Raph thought you were dead."

"Did not!"

"Enough talk." One of the Krang stepped forward. "Now that all those who call themselves the turtles have awakened, we will destroy them, as soon as I say fire. When I say fire, we will destroy those who call themselves turtles because they are a threat to the Krang and what the Krang do. Fire is the signal for those…"

"Who call themselves the turtles to be destroyed! Blah, blah, blah! We get it!" Raph blurted out impatiently. "Can't you just let us go and fight like men? Where's the honor in shooting us when we can't even move?" The Krang robot ignored him. "Ready." The robot bleeped out. Leo found himself staring at the ends of their laser guns, the sidelights on and the little power symbols lit.

He swallowed hard, but then felt a three-fingered hand brush his. It was Raph. He had wormed his arm through the ropes and was now gripping his hand. Leo turned to Raph and they locked eyes. It was an "I love you, goodbye" look.

Leo turned and pushed his hand towards Donnie. The unbelievably tight ropes burned at his arm, but he made it, squeezing Donnie's hand as they met eyes.

Leo could tell by the increased pressure of the rope on his chest that Donnie had linked hands with Mikey, and finally Mikey with Raph. Leo had to fight back tears of pride, love, and scared sadness. Poor Splinter! He would never know what had happened to his sons.

"Aim." The robot bleeped. Raph squeezed his hand harder, and Leo shut his eyes, waiting. Nothing happened. "Take that, you rusty tin can!" What? Leo opened his eyes to find Ara kicking back a Krang robot. "Fire!" One of the robots screeched. Leo winced, only to find that the Krang had meant Ara, not them. Ara weaved through the laser bullets and picked up the first weapon she could find: one of Leo's fallen katanas. She evenly sliced off a Krang's head, kicking away another at the same time. She then leaped to the pole, slicing off the rope that bound the turtles with one swipe.

"Are you guys okay?" she whispered, ducking a bullet. "Yeah, for the most part." Donnie breathed. Leo just stared. Ara knew martial arts? Strike that, she knew ANCIENT JAPANESE NINJETSU?! There was no way he could mistake her form. Mikey emerged from the other side of the pole, brushing off his arms. "What did I mi… Whoa." He gaped, watching Ara roll under an attacking Krang and leap up on the other side, slicing his middle. "A little help here?" She called, dodging a bullet.

"Yeah, right." Raph replied, snatching up his sai and going to work. The others followed his lead, Leo grabbing his remaining katana from where it lay and slicing some robots. Every now and then he snuck a glance at Ara fighting, almost unable to believe his eyes. Ara grinned. "This is the best…" she doged three bullets. "Day of my…" she slashed at a Krang, knocking the gun from his hand. "ENTIRE LIFE!" she finished with a whoop. Minutes later, they had finished off the last of the robots. Ara looked down at the stray cut up scraps of metal with satisfaction. "It's been so long," she murmured contentedly.

Raphael turned to her, breathing hard. "You can call me Raph!" Ara grinned. "Thanks." She turned to Leo and held out his katana. "I think this is yours." Leo blushed, suddenly feeling a little shy. "Yep. That would be mine." He said, taking it from her. "Thanks."

"Your Welcome." She replied, smiling. "So…" Donnie butted in. "How'd you get here?"

"Oh, yeah. Splinter sent me after you guys when April showed up… alone." Mikey winced. "Oops."

"Oh, come on!" Ara said, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "Splinter won't punish you! I mean, you guys couldn't help it if those robot thingies popped up behind you! It's not your fault."

"I wish I was as sure as you." Raph muttered under his breath as he turned back.

The closer they got to home, the uneasier Leo became. He tried to convince himself that Ara was right. She had to be. Leo reached his hand back to the bruised bump on the back of his head. They hadn't had a chance! The bump reminded him of that moment when Raph's hand had gripped his and that goodbye look. Was Raph changing? Was this a turning point for him? Would he…

"Hey Leo, I'm curious. What were you dreaming about when you were knocked out?" Raph called over his shoulder. "Oh, how stupid of me to ask! Of course you were dreaming about Space Heros. It's all your mind is capable of." Nope. Same old Raph.

They stopped in front of the door leading to their home, Leo holding his breath as he pushed it open. Inside, Master Splinter was pacing up and down with worry. April was standing behind him, running her hands through her hair with a distressed look clouding her face. Splinter's head snapped up as the door opened, relief flooding his features as soon as he saw them.

Leo wondered once again what he would have done if Ara hadn't shown up. "Where have you been?" Splinter asked with concern as he took in their battered state. "And more importantly, are you all right?" Leo assured him they were. "In that case…" Splinter's expression hardened. "Come with me, you five." Ara jolted in surprise. "Yes, you too, Ara." Splinter added sternly.

The five turtles followed Splinter into the training room, forming a line by kneeling on the floor. Ara hesitated only a moment, then quickly knelt at the end of the line by Mikey. "Leo, What happened?" Splinter asked, crossing his arms behind his back. Leo hastily explained, beginning with waking up to finding himself a captive and ending with walking through the door.

"Let me get this straight." Splinter said after a long silence. "The KRANG snuck up on you?" All nodded. "How is this possible? From what I have heard, those things are NOISY."

"We couldn't hear because RAPH was yelling." Leo explained. Raph crossed his arms. "I was yelling because MIKEY lost my camera."

"Well, I think LEO was the one who hid it."

"You don't…"

"Enough!" Splinter barked, shaking his head. "From now on, all of you must be alert at all times. You may relax HERE. Otherwise, anywhere else, never let your guard down, or at the very least refrain from shouting. Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, 15 back flips, now! And next time remember to keep your wits about you!"

Groans filled the room, and the four brothers sulkily rose, went to the wall, and began their back flipping. "And Ara, come with me. I need to speak with you…alone."


	4. Chapter 4

_ Ok guys, tiny, tiny chapter. This is basically just one scene I wanted to write, occurring immediately where I left off. _

_ IMPORTANT QUESTION:I have several new "episode" ideas. Each episode consists of several chapters. The thing I want you guys to tell me are which one you want first. I have episodes that are centered around Leo, Donnie, Raph, or Mikey. Which one do you want? Give me your answer in the comments. Thanks! J _

Chapter 4- Ara

Ara followed Splinter into a small, well-lit room, picking at the bandages on her hands nervously. The room had thick, soft carpet and two large plush cushions facing each other with a small mahogany table between them. The cushions' bright, elaborate designs had faded with age and use. Ara guessed that the room served as a talking place for Splinter and his sons.

"Please, sit." Splinter gestured to a pillow. Ara obeyed, sitting cross-legged on the closest cushion. Splinter seated himself opposite of her. "You saved the lives of my sons. For this, I am greatly indebted to you." Ara lowered her eyes under his intense gaze, her face turning pink. "Yes, well… that's what friends do for each other, right?"

"True." Splinter replied solemnly . "But do you realize that you could have been killed? The Krang are nothing to mess with, and you leaped into an area bearing twenty of them, all with loaded laser guns." At this, Ara raised her head and looked Splinter full in the eye. "Yah, that's always the risk when you're a ninja. When I began my training, I realized that fact. But we all leave this earth at some time, and I can't think of many better ways to die then trying to save friends, or any person, for that matter."

"Well put." Splinter said admiringly. "Spoken like a true ninja."

"Besides." Ara added with a smile, "If the Krang want to hurt me, they are going to have a very hard time doing it. My father made sure of that." The last words, though strained, brought a smile to Ara's face.

"I gather your father was a fine man." Splinter said gently. Ara smiled sadly. "The best. I…I wish you two could've met. I have a feeling you'd be friends. You remind me of him in a lot of ways."

"I take that as a great compliment." Splinter smiled. "I need to ask you something. It's only a proposal, and you needn't feel any pressure to assent. I was only wondering if you would like to join my sons and be a part of their team. You would train with them, go with them on nightly patrols, and I could be your sensei. As you undoubtably already know, it'll be hard wor…"

Splinter was nearly knocked over from the force of a huge hug. He gave a slightly muffled chuckle. "Is this a yes?" Ara stood up and backed away, embarrassed. "It's a yes." Her serious face broke into a grin, but she quickly recomposed herself and bowed to Splinter. "Thank you… sensei." Splinter smiled. "No need to thank me. You may go." He closed his eyes with a relaxed little sigh of contentment. Ara shifted from where she stood. "Umm… Master Splinter?"

"Yes?" Splinter opened one eye. "Err… don't we have to tell the guys?" Splinters re-shut his eye. "No. In their eyes, you were an official member the second you saved them this morning."

Nodding, Ara quietly slipped out the door, bumping into Leo as she left. Leo stumbled back, crashing into Donnie, who bumped into Raph, who knocked over Mikey. Ara's mouth flew open. "Were you guys eavesdropping on us?"

"No!" Mikey cried defensively, standing up and brushing himself off. "Umm, what does eavesdropping mean?" Donnie groaned, and Leo scratched his neck sheepishly. "We didn't hear much." Raph rolled his eyes. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're horrible at lying?" Leo glowered at him. "Anyway." Leo stuck his hand out to Ara, smiling. "Welcome to the team."

_And so it began…_


	5. A Ninja's Christmas (Pt 1)

A Ninja's Christmas- Everyone (Pt.1)

_Hello, Everyone! I am soooo sorry for how late this is. You see, I like writing on paper. This means I have to re-write everything out on the computer, and my typing skills are HORRIBLE. Hence the long waits between episodes. This was supposed to be out for you guys 2 days before Christmas. (Sorry) I hope you haven't lost the Christmas spirit yet! I finally thought you guys had had a long enough wait, so I am giving you what I do have typed now, and the rest in 1 or 2 days. (With luck)_

April

April looked up from where she was typing in the den in the sudden realization that it was almost Christmas. She glanced around the room, realizing that there were no decorations whatsoever. Not a single light or ornament, not even a Christmas tree, let alone presents.

"Uh, Leo?"

"Mm-hm?" Leo replied without taking his eyes from the air hockey game he was waging with Raph. "When are you guys gonna start getting ready for Christmas?"

"Christmas? Oh, yeah… um, well, I guess we can string up a few lights this year, if you really want to. And maybe we can even… Ha! Point for Leonardo the great!... even get a tree. We did that once a long time ago, I think." April's mouth dropped open in disbelief, and she blinked in surprise. "You guys don't do Christmas?!"

"Not really…Ugg! I almost had you! " Leo scowled at the now triumphant Raph, stalking off to sit on the couch. Ara looked up from her book. "Why not?"

Leo shrugged. "It's not like we didn't want to; but do you know how hard it is to get a tree and stuff? Heck, before this year we couldn't even go up to the surface."

"Well now you have me" April stated confidently "And you guys are going to have the best Christmas ever" She pulled up Word on her computer and wrote in big letters across the top "CHRISTMAS LIST" She scrolled down, typing number 1. "What are some things we're going to need?"

Ara started counting off things from her fingertips. "A tree, lights, cookies, Christmas carols…"

"And presents!" Mikey chimed in, jumping off his tire swing. April rolled her eyes "And presents". She jumped up, grabbed n old map and flipped it to the blank side, writing down names and tearing them apart. She them dumped them all in a bowl and walked to the middle of the room, clearing her throat to get everyone's' attention. "How about we do a secret Santa thing? Everyone draws a name and they have to give that person a present for Christmas".

Everyone agreed and Raph raced up and grabbed a sheet. His eyes widened in horror, and he stuck it back in. "Maybe Leo should go first, he's the leader" Leo rolled his eyes and walked up, plucking a piece form the pile. Reading the name, he smiled, folding it neatly in half and retreating from the room. "Aw, he didn't even tell us who it was" Mikey pouted. "You're not supposed to, its called secret Santa for a reason" Ara pointed out.

Everyone drew names and April picked up the last one, reading the name, Donnie. "Oh, great!" Donnie had always been her favorite out of all the ninjas; he was sweet, smart and kind. But the fact that he had a huge crush on her made her feel a little uncomfortable at times, and now she was going to give him a present? What would he like?

"A next generation cadmium processor." April's head sapped around to find Leo peering over her shoulder. "Stop sneaking up on me!" Leo grinned sheepishly. "It's a ninja thing; sorry." Ara shook her head and turned back to stare at her piece of paper. "You really think you'd like a next generation cadmium processor?" Leo snorted. "it's all he talks about". "How much would it cost?" Leo winced. "You …don't want to know. " "That's what I thought" April sighed, sinking down onto the couch. "I'll think of something"; "when pigs fly" she finished in her head.

The next few days were turmoil. Everyone seemed anxious, and April was willing to bet the cause was fretting over gifts. Leo seemed to be the only one truly happy with his person. He was constantly humming, disappearing and reappearing, obviously working on his present for whoever it was he had gotten. He acted so…un-Leo like. Less demanding and pushy, and more good-natured and easygoing. Weird. "Leo if you need any help with anything, I'm your man" Donnie called out one day, curious as to what was about. "Thanks, but not thanks" Leo chirped, jumping down from the chair he ad been standing on to reach something in a cupboard, and leaving he room. "I think I got this one".

April finally gave up and admitted that the only decent present she could think of hp give Donnie was the next generation cadmium processor. Maybe she could find a used one for cheap or something. But somehow, she highly doubted it.

* * *

Mikey

"Donnie! Guess who I got for secret Santa!" Wanna know? Waaaanna know?" "Shut up Mikey!" Donnie groaned. Mikey had been asking him the same series of questions for the past hour "I'll know on Christmas, which is only in 2 days" Mikey smiled sweetly "I'll bet you want to know NOW! Oh, and by the way, sorry you didn't get April!" Donnie looked up from his computer sharply "How'd you know that?" "Because it would be impossible to get her. I g….." Mikey clasped his hand over his mouth.

Donnie put his computer aside. "Who. Did. You. Get?" Mikey broke into a triumphant grin. "I KNEW you'd want to know." "Mikey! You didn't answer my question!" Mikey noticed that Donnie had his fist clenched and he looked really mad. This was sooo much fun! He never got Donnie this angry, not even with water balloons! Raph was easy, but Donnie….

"Hate to leave you hanging, bro!" Mikey grinned, "but I gotta go!" He turned to leave only to find Donnie right in front of him. "Tell me!" "You're gonna have to catch me first!" Mikey turned and raced from the room at full speed, Donnie at his heels. "Come here, you!"

Raph looked up from his comic to see the commotion, quickly shouting words of encouragement to Donnie. Mikey felt Donnie's staff whap at his ankle and he tripped, falling to the floor. In another moment Donnie had twisted his arm behind his back, causing Mikey's shoulder to erupt in pain. "Hey, I'm…I'm sorry!" Mikey grunted painfully. "I got April, alright?"

The pressure on his arm weakened, then stopped. Mikey rolled over and sat up, rubbing his arm. "Who did you get?" " Leo" Donnie stated glumly, "Wanna trade?"

"There will be no trading!" Splinter had entered the room, shaking his head. Donnie sighed. "Fine." He turned to MIkey "What are you going to get April?" Mikey grinned happily. He had thought and thought over that one, but now he had the perfect idea. "At first I was going to give her a pizza. Even though that's a great idea, she'll just eat it and then it'll be gone. So I decided to give her…drum roll, please…. a skate board and some ninja smoke bombs!"

Donnie slapped his forehead with a groan; "You can't give April THAT!" Mikey's face fell in disappointment. He had thought of the perfect gift ideas and Donnie didn't even like them? "Why not?"

"Because she'll hate them, that's why!" Mikey's lip quivered, "Well…well….I'm gonna give them to her anyway, because I think she'll love them." Donnie opened his mouth to speak, but just then April walked into the room, holding a bowl and spoon. "Who here knows how to cook?" Ara poked her head into the room "I do!" Mikey leaped up, "So do I!" Ara bounded across the room, taking the bowl from April. "Yeah, right".

"I do too know how to cook", Mikey protested, grabbing the bowl from Ara. "I used to do all the cooking before we discovered pizza." Ara crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow "What did you cook?" "Algae and ...worms?" Mikey replied with a gulp. It just occurred to him that that didn't exactly sound scrumptious. Ara snatched back the bowl "That settles it! I'm cooking!"

"Fine, but I'm going to help". Ara sighed, "Okay, if it makes you happy". She turned for the kitchen with Mikey at her heels. "What are we making?" "Christmas cookies." Ara opened a cupboard, scanning its contents. Getting out the ingredients she needed, she poured and stirred it all in. Towards the end her eyes widened with dismay. "Where's the vanilla?"

Mikey scanned the contents of all the cupboards, "I don't see anything…would this work?" he asked as he held up a bottle of vinegar. "The spellings are practically the same". Ara snatched it out of his hand "No way!" She buried the vinegar in the back of the cupboard. "Stay here, I'll go ask Splinter where he keeps it." Mikey nodded, sitting obediently on a stool. Ara crossed the room but turned back at the last moment. "Don't touch ANYTHING while I'm gone! Understand?" Mikey nodded vigorously; "No problemo!"

Ara looked at him uncertainly for a few more moments, shrugged her shoulders and left. The second she was gone, Mikey cracked his knuckles with satisfaction. "Let's find something to spice these babies up a little".

* * *

Leo

"What's that smell?" Raph asked, setting down Spike to sniff the air. "Smells good!" Leo answered, standing up and heading for the kitchen. He entered to find Mikey happily frosting cookies with Ara. "We finished!" Ara grinned with satisfaction, stacking the last cookie on a heaping pile. Leo's mouth watered and he reached for a cookie, only to have Mikey whisk the plate out of his reach. He tsked a finger at him. "Oh no you don't! These are for Christmas."

"Oh lighten up!" Raph entered the room, immediately beginning to try to help himself to a cookie. "You can always make more".

"No, we...can't. We're…out…of …flour!" Mikey replied, whisking the plate to a different place every few seconds. Donnie poked his head into the room. "What smells like cookies?"

"I don't know, Donnie, maybe it's the cookies!" Raph replied in frustrations. "The cookies we can't get because Mikey is hogging them!" He leaped up, chasing Mikey around the room in circles. Donnie stuck his foot out and Mikey tripped, the plate of cookies flying into the air. Leo easily caught them. "That's what I call team work!"

"Hey!" Mikey leaped for the plate high above Leo's head. "NO fair!" Leo sighed, handing Mikey back the plate. "How about we have one each?"

"Fine" Ara butted in, "One can't hurt". Mikey visibly brightened. "You're right" he replied, looking hungrily at the plate, "but me first". Mikey grabbed a cookie and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. His eyes shot open wide. The other turtles took this as encouragement and they each snatched up a cookie, popping them into their mouths. Unfortunately, they didn't take the time to notice that Mikey's eyes were wide with shock, not enjoyment. Nor did they notice him rush to the trashcan.

Leo's mouth was on fire. The horrible flavors in his mouth were so strong he could barely see straight. This was the worst thing he'd ever eaten! He simultaneously rushed to the wastebasket with his brothers and Ara, spewing out the contents of his mouth. He had stumbled to the sink and glugged down several pints of water before he sputtered, "What was in those things?"

Mikey shook his head in dismay. " Where did I go wrong?" Ara choked on the water she was gulping down. "Where did YOU go wrong?! You mean you… when I was… After I told you to…" Mikey shrank back. "Sorry." He whispered in an almost inaudible voice. "Well, sorry doesn't pay the bulldog!" "What…what bulldog?" Mikey asked, looking confusedly around the room. "Never mind!" Ara groaned angrily. But look what you did! You ruined everything! The cookies are uneatable, because of you!" Ara stopped suddenly. "Oh, man. Mikey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"No!" Mikey stormed angrily. "You're he one who can't even do the triple-sided back flip! When are you going to learn that that is impossible to do with a shell?" Ara sucked in a sharp breath, but Raph snorted in amusement. "Man, Mikey! You gotta work on your insults! That was so random!" Leo watched Ara fight back tears. "Um, can you guys excuse me for a moment?" she mumbled numbly, stumbling for the door. The rest of the brothers didn't notice, busy watching Donnie bag up the cookies. "These could come in handy…"  
Leo slipped out the door after Ara just as the room erupted with laughter, Raph's "Yeah, let's see the Shredder eat one of those!" fading away as he followed her.

Ara was walking along "the river," A stream of clear water that had three feet long strips of raised cement on either side. She did a series of complex ninjetsu moves, ending with the triple sided back flip. This last one failed miserably, and she plopped down beside the water, head on her knees. Leo saw her shoulders quaking with suppressed sobs.

He quietly approached, sitting noiselessly down beside her. "You Okay?" Ara jumped, and her head snapped up to see him sitting there. She quickly turned her head and wiped away the tears before turning back. "You snuck up on me." She said with a small smile. "No one used to be able to do that besides my dad. I must be getting rusty." Leo smiled. "Or maybe I'm just that good." Ara nodded in reply, turning to gaze into the water.

It was a few minutes before she spoke again. "That move… the triple sided back flip? I used to be able to do that perfectly. It was one of my favorites." Ara swung her foot onto her lap, tugging a large golden locket out of the bandages that surrounded her ankles. She snapped it open and passed it to Leo. "That's me with my dad." Leo studied the picture she had gestured to carefully. There was a girl with long, dark brown hair and smiling chocolate brown eyes that he guessed was Ara. She was with a man in his fifties who had black hair sprinkled with silver streaks. The man had Ara's brown eyes, or at least the other way around. Laugh lines covered his face, and Leo could tell how much he loved his daughter.

Leo looked at the girl in the picture, then up at Ara, then back again. Her eyes hadn't changed in the least. Yes, he could definitely tell it was her. "And that's my mom. She died when I was a baby." Leo focused his attention on the picture in the other side of the locket. The woman in the photo had glossy brown hair like Ara, but instead of chocolate brown eyes, hers were an intense green. She was smiling brightly into the camera, a mischievous look on her face. Leo studied the pictures for a minute longer, then passed the locket back to Ara. "Thank you."

Ara looked surprised. "For what?"

"For showing that to me." Somehow, this meant a lot to Leo. Ara confining in him made him feel really good. "

"You're welcome." They were silent, savoring the moment and gazing into the clear water. Eventually, Leo began wracking his brain for something to say and blurted out the first question that came into his mind. "So… What's your name?" Ara looked confused. "It's… Ara." Leo laughed. "No, I meant like your full name."

"Oh. Okay, then, my first name is Ara, my last name is Felrane, and my middle name is… Oh." Ara stopped, suddenly very busy with the bandages that surrounded her hands. "Your middle name is Oh?" Ara laughed. "Um, no….it's…ah…it's Vinci. You know, after Leonardo da vinci? My dad really liked his work." "Oh." Leo managed to squeak out, blushing.

All of a sudden a strong green arm was wrapped around his shoulder. "Ahhh, This is so sweet! You two just sitting here, talking!" Mikey. Leo twisted around to glare at him and at Raph and Donnie not far behind, arms crossed over chests and eyebrows cocked. Rolling his eyes, Leo turned to Ara, only to discover that she had disappeared. How did she… Leo answered his own question: It's a ninja thing.


	6. A ninja's Christmas (Pt 2)

_Hey, guys! This is part 2. Enjoy! (PS. Keep me posted, I love to hear what you think. Every comment literally makes my day.)_

Ara

Ara shuffled along the sewer floors, deep in thought. She had gotten Mikey for secret santa, and here she was on Christmas Eve, with no gifts and even less ideas. Had she gotten any of the other guys she could have brushed it off, gotten them something decent that they would enjoy and that would be the end of it. But Mikey… no, his gift had to be perfect. She wanted to see his eyes light up and hear him squeal with delight. She kicked a small snowdrift that had gathered up under the grating in frustration. She could just see that squeal of happiness turning into tears.

What was that? Ara lifted her head and closed her eyes, sorting through the sounds above her. Boots scraping on the sidewalk, a single car horn, a door clicking shut, a heavy breath, a whimper… bingo! She waited for all human sounds to fade, then scaled up the cracked wall and pushed open the grate.

Making a quick glance around to assure no one was near, she cautiously inched towards the box that the whimpering sounds were coming from. A tattered FOR SALE- FREE sign gave one last fight to stay taped on, then fluttered away in a gust of wind. Ara peered inside the box to find a single, shivering puppy. It had chocolate brown fur with tiny black patches dotting its face. There was snow on the tip of his nose and he was quietly whimpering. Ara reached forward and the puppy's eyes widened. It backed up, cowering in a corner.

"No…it's Okay." Ara cooed softly, gently reaching out a hand. The puppy hesitated for a few more moments, then he stumbled towards it. She picked it up and pulled it close to herself. Its shivering quickened, and Ara searched herself for anything that said warm. Tucking the puppy under an elbow, she quickly unwrapped the bandages from her hands and made a sort of nest out of them. Placing the puppy inside, she wrapped it around him. Eh, it would have to do for now. She heard a crunch of snow around the corner and disappeared down the grate, just remembering to shove the grating back in place before she leaped to the floor and headed hurriedly for home.

"What d' you got there, Ara?" It wasn't until Ara heard Mikey's voice that she realized the puppy would be a perfect gift for Christmas. As the idea entered her mind she called out, "Nothing! Don't you dare look, Michelangelo! It's… It's your present, and if you look, I'm keeping it for myself!"

There was a whoop from the other side of the room, but it was going obediently in the other direction. "What is it? Donnie emerged from his workshop, tugging a pair of goggles from his eyes. "You're gonna have to wait for Christmas."

"Oh, come on!" This was Mikey from the other room. "It's not his present! Please tell him? See, I'm not even listening!" This statement was followed by a series of ear-splitting La-La-La's.

Ara rolled her eyes. "Fine." She headed for Donnie's workshop, closing the door behind her. "Will you tell Mikey? Or the others? The more people that know about this, the higher chance there is of someone letting their tongue slip." Donnie quickly agreed, and Ara lifted back the bandages. The puppy timidly peeped out. Donnie's eyes bugged. "Whoa… I don't know, Ara." He shook is head uncertainly. "There's sorta been an unspoken "No pet" rule ever since Mikey brought home a family of mice." He shuddered at the memory.

"But… Raph has Spike!"

"True, but Spike is so… mellow." Donnie countered. "I can't say the same for this little guy, or at least in a few weeks." He picked up the puppy from where it was sitting in the bandages, sorting through its fur. "But it doesn't have fleas, so I'd say he has a fighting chance of passing Splinter's inspection. Speaking of which…" Donnie jerked his head towards the side door, where Splinter had been standing quietly.

Ara leaped up, standing in front of the puppy. "Master Splinter! We were just…" Splinter raised an eyebrow, and Ara sighed, seeing that it was pointless. "Can we keep him?" Splinter crossed the room, keeping one eye on the puppy that had stumbled out from between Ara's feet. "We are not a zoo for every stray that passes by!" he said firmly, planting his staff on the ground. The puppy suddenly decided that he liked him, and promptly leaped out, planting his front feet on Splinter.

The sensei smiled. "However, teaching Mikey some responsibility, a skill that always comes with pets, could not hurt." Ara grinned happily. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes…and no."

Ara's face fell, and Splinter chuckled in amusement. "Just joking. It's a yes!" Ara lit up like a light and she raced forward to engulf him in a hug. "Thanks, Master Splinter! Mikey's gonna love this!"

"IT'S CHRISTMAAAAAAAASS!"

"Gaaaah!" Ara fell out of bed as Mikey nearly broke down the door, barging into her room.

"Waaaake up! It's Christmaaaas!"

"I'm awake!" Ara mumbled, rubbing her head. Mikey yanked her hand, jerking her upright. "C'mon! Let's open presents!" Before she could reply, Mikey had whisked her out of her room and into the den, where Splinter was calmly sipping a cup of tea. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Master Splinter." Ara got out a bowl and made herself some cereal. Mikey threw his hands in the air as she sat down to eat it. "What is WRONG with you people? It's Christmas morning, and the first thing you do is eat BREAKFAST!?"

"Sounds like a good start to me." Ara replied, taking a bite. "Besides, we can't open presents until April comes."

"Michelangelo, go wake up your brothers." Mikey sped out of the room, and Ara winced as he went to work. "Rise and shine! Let's see those smiling faces! Hop to it, men!" Ara heard a groan of frustration. "Leo! It's Captain Ryan!"

"Where?!"

"Raph, Donnie! The house is on fire!"

"We don't live in a house, genius!"

"Yah, but it worked, didn't it? Ouch! What was that for?"

"Hey, guys." April walked into the room. "Hi…hi April." Ara stuttered in surprise. "You're here kind of early, aren't you?" April scowled. "Yeah. Yeah I am."

"APRIL'S HERE?" The green blur that was Mikey shot across the room to April, nearly knocking her over on impact. When he left to drag his brothers into the room at a faster speed, April looked over at Ara questioningly.

"He had too many Christmas cookies."

"Oooohhh…" After the cookie incident, Mikey had made it up to Ara by making a ton of no-bake cookies that didn't need flour. They were actually pretty good. Raph stumbled sleepily into the room, the rest of his brothers not far behind. As soon as he saw April he grinned. "Wow, April! You got here fast! What did you do, ditch your aunt?"

April's face clouded. "No. The other way around, she ditched ME. I found a note this morning saying that her cousin is having a baby today, and she apparently HAS to be there for her. We are supposed to make up for it with a really good Christmas dinner, IF she's even home by then."

By now, Mikey had nearly gone insane with impatience. "Can we open the presents already? Splinter smiled. "I believe a brief gift exchange is in order."

"FINALLY."

Everyone sat down. "Lets go oldest to youngest. So Splinter is first. Who got Splinter?" Leo asked, looking around.

"That would be me." Raph went under the tree and pulled out a tiny box, carefully wrapped. He presented it to Splinter with a grin. Keeping half an eye on his toughest son, Splinter slowly undid the bow and tore the wrapping from the box. Everyone watched his progress carefully. Leo gasped. "It's a…"

"iPod shuffle!" Donnie finished, shocked. Ara clasped her hands over her mouth, suppressing giggles. "Thank you, Raphael. Splinter said slowly, removing the shuffle from its case. "Your welcome." Raph beamed. "I pre-loaded a couple of songs…here." Raph popped the ear buds into place, then pushed play. Ara caught a few notes that sounded like rap. "Oops…" Raph grinned sheepishly, quickly switching songs. This one was better, the notes gently sweeping by, sometimes upbeat and quick, at others soft and peaceful. "THANK YOU, Raphael!" This time Ara knew Splinter truly meant it.

Leo smiled. "April next." April was presented with the skateboard and ninja smoke bombs, and to everyone but Mikey's surprise, she absolutely loved them. "Sweet!" Ara snatched a smoke bomb and chucked it at the ground, reappearing a second later with a cookie in hand. She popped it in her mouth, grabbing her skateboard and setting it carefully in her lap. "I'll try it out as soon as we're done here."

The gift exchange continued, Leo getting the only season of space heroes that he had never seen, Donnie receiving a next generation cadmean processer, (April would not say how she got it.) And Raph getting a mega habitat for Spike.

"Okay, now Mikey." Leo pronounced. Ara smiled. "Close your eyes." Mikey obeyed, rocking back and forth from where he sat in excitement. Ara left the room, returning a minute later with the puppy. This produced gasps from April, Leo and Raph. "What is it?" Mikey screeched, visibly struggling to keep his eyes shut. Ara set the puppy down right in front of him. "You can look." Mikey's eyes flew open, and he froze as he saw the puppy, mouth open wide in suprise. He shook his head with disbelief. "For…me?!" Ara grinned wider. "For you." With a squeal of joy, Mikey shot forward and picked up the puppy. The usually timid creature yipped happily, wagging its tail and licking Mikey's face with its little tongue. When Mikey calmed down enough to talk several minutes later, he grinned. "I'm naming it Pepperoni. Pepper for short." Everyone agreed this was a decent name, especially with the black spots splayed across its face.

"And finally, Ara." Leo smiled. I got Ara." He crossed the room and pulled something out of the closet. It was wrapped in a blanket. "Sorry I couldn't wrap this. I thought Mikey might start messing with the presents under the tree, and then we'd have a problem. Careful with it."

Ara gingerly took the present and set it on the ground, folding back the blanket. Her breath left her with a whoosh. It was a single sword, handmade with a beautiful hilt. The handle had delicate cherry blossoms carved into the soft wood. The blade was good and sharp, made of lightweight metal. It came with a leather scabbard that she slung over her shoulder, the strap crossing diagonally over her breastplate like Leo and Donnie's. She picked up the sword and made several slices through the air. "Leo, it's…" Ara struggled to find the right words. "Magnificent. How did you do it?" Leo blushed. "Splinter helped me a little." Ara sheathed the sword behind her shell, beaming. "Thanks, Leo. You too, Master Splinter." She stepped forward, giving Leo a hug and planting a tiny kiss on his cheek. Leo promptly turned crimson. "No…no problem."

"Pepper! Bad dog! No eating the nice turtle!" Ara turned to see Raph holding Spike high above his head, Mikey shaking his finger at a guilty looking Pepper. "He nearly murdered him!" Raph sputtered, setting down Spike and lunging for the puppy. Mikey had him in his grasp in a second, arm flung protectively over his new pet. "All he did was lick him!"

"Lick him, my shell! He had Spike's head IN HIS MOUTH! Leo rolled his eyes and crossed the room, sliding season 2 into into the television. "Ever heard of peace on earth and good will towards men? "

Raph snorted. "Says the turtle who gives swords as Christmas presents."

Leo wisely chose to ignore this last comment, settling down to an episode. Ara glanced over at the screen and blinked in surprise. The episode was a Christmas special. Weird. She rose and headed for the kitchen. Getting out a big pot, she made a large batch of Hot chocolate. Pouring it into cups, She put them onto a tray and added a few mini marshmallows that she had found lying around. Ara went into the den and handed a cup to Mikey. "Be careful around Pepper. Chocolate's bad for dogs."

Mikey took a sip and his eyes widened. "Ara, this is awesome!"

"Thanks." She passed out the rest of the mugs and then sat down, slowly sipping her Coco and savoring the moment. It was so… peaceful. Peace was something hard to come by these days.

That thought put a damper on her mood. These days… the days she could only come out at night, the days with no hope of ever going to college, or meeting people. The days she could never go anywhere in public, be it fairs, zoos, amusement parks, restaurants, libraries, stores, or even walking down the street. No. No, no, no, no, no! She shouldn't think about those things. She should think about the good. Ara took a deep breath. She had met four epically awesome turtles that shared her greatest passion: ninjetsu. She had a wonderful new sensei that reminded her of her father in so many ways. They were the only ninja's in New York, besides herself. And she had stumbled upon them…what were the odds? She was so lucky. She had a family now. Not that she would ever forget her father. She would always dearly love him. But he wouldn't have wanted her to face life alone. She had a FAMILY again. A family made of mutants, yes, but a family all the same. A family that she knew would always have her back, and in return she would always have theirs. And they were all so perfectly wonderful in their own ways.

Just then, Mikey sub-concisely began singing Silent night. Moments later, Raph unknowingly joined in. April and Ara met eyes from across the room, they too picking up the tune. Before long, everyone was gently humming in harmony. Even Captain Ryan and his crew started singing it on their Christmas special. Ara would have laughed at this last one if it hadn't been so…magical. The music swelled, and at that moment, everything was perfect.


	7. Chapter 5

_Ok, people. I couldn't decide which brother to do, _so I_'m giving you this. It's a little bit of everyone. This story has been rolling around in the back of my mind for a while._ _It takes place just after __Mousers attack__! (As a side note, Ara "dropped in" on the turtles the day after __The Gauntlet__ took place.)_

What did you guys think of _A New Girl in Town_? _Whoa, that was a curveball for me. So now Leo likes Karai? *wince* Oops. Well, I'll have to roll with it, and I've got some ideas up my sleeve. OK, enough of my talking, here we go! _

Abducted Pt. 1

"Hold still, Mikey! Can't you sit in one position for ten minutes?"

"It hasn't been ten minutes! It's been two hours! How long does it take to paint a stupid picture?" Ara was in the kitchen, her brow furrowed with concentration and annoyance. She had always loved painting, and when she had found some old brushes and paints in the back of a closet, she had immediately wanted to try them out. Mikey had volunteered to have his picture painted, but ten minutes later, (or two hours in Mikey time) he was squirming impatiently in his seat.

Leo, Donnie, and Raph were standing behind Ara, carefully watching her progress. "Wow, Ara! That's really good!" Leo exclaimed. "Yeah, I had no idea you could paint like that!" Donnie agreed. She even got an "Eh, I've seen worse," out of Raph.

"Hold it…hold it… there!" Ara exclaimed, stepping back to look at her work. Mikey shot from his seat. "Finally!" Pepper yipped and leaped up towards Mikey, wagging his tail in excitement at seeing his master so happy. Ara moved the painting to a hopefully safe corner to dry out, eyeing Mikey and Pepper from where they were play-wrestling. That painting wasn't gonna last five minutes.

"Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Ara." Ara turned her head to see Splinter standing in the doorway. "Come with me." Ara shot a questioning glance at Leo, who shrugged to show that he was as clueless as she. It was most likely just another one of Splinter's training whims.

As Ara followed Splinter into the den, she saw that she was right. There were five sets of poles set up in the middle of the room. Each pair had a metal rung across the top, with a handkerchief tied to it. They reminded Ara of the chin up poles at her old school's playground, only much, much taller. Four of the poles were reasonably short, but one of them was over twice as tall as the rest.

"As you can see, the poles each have a uniquely colored handkerchief on them. Go to the one the same color as your mask." Ara looked up at the tallest set of poles. It had a green handkerchief at the top. Great. Just great. "Now jump up and retrieve the handkerchief. Once you bring it to me, your training is done for the rest of the day."

"But..." Ara gestured helplessly up at the handkerchief. "How is that even fair?!"

"It's not." Splinter replied.

"But... that's impossible to reach!" Splinter was already leaving the room, calling over his shoulder, "No, it's not. I could do it."

"Yes, but you're…" Ara saw that it was pointless to argue. She turned and glumly watched Raph leap for his, missing it by an inch. He tried again, this time grasping the bar. He pulled himself up onto it and sat down, untying the handkerchief. "Last one to Splinter is turtle soup!" He called down, waving his red handkerchief in the air. "Hey, no fair!" Mikey shouted, leaping for his and catching it on the first try. Leo and Donnie weren't far behind him. In seconds, the four brothers were on the ground, handkerchiefs in hand and gazing expectantly at Ara. She waved them off. "Last one to Splinter is turtle soup, remember? You guys better get going."

"No, I think we can wait. I don't wanna miss this." Raph grinned. Ara sighed. This was going to be embarrassing. Crouching low to the ground, Ara called upon every ounce of strength she had in her. She took a deep breath, then launched herself into the air. Ara soared higher than she had ever gone in her life. She could feel the air washing over and around her at an incredible speed. Ara sucked in a sharp breath. This is what it meant to fly. But as she opened her eyes, Ara saw that she wasn't going to make it. The next thing she knew, the ground was coming up to meet her at an alarming rate. She went into a roll, leaping to her feet. Raph burst out laughing. "That was pitiful! You were nowhere near the rung." Ara's face reddened. "It was a lot better than you could ever do."

"Maybe so, but luckily for me, my pole wasn't a hundred feet high! There's no way you're ever going to make that jump." Ara nodded. "Don't I know it." She tried again, once more getting nowhere close. Ara set her jaw. She could do this! Ara leaped up again and again, refusing to give up. The brother's heads bobbed up and down like yoyos as they watched her fail over and over. "I'm giving this to Splinter." Donnie called, finally heading out the door. The other three were at his heels.

An hour went by. Ara finally sat down at the base of one of the poles, gazing up at the green piece of cloth miserably. It waved gently in the air, mocking her. _Ha! See me up here? You can't get me! Never in a million years! You actually think you can reach me? Please keep trying, honey! This is so amusing! _ Ara realized that she had probably cracked. The cloth didn't have a mind. But she didn't care. "Stupid handkerchief."' She mumbled under her breath. "Who are you talking to?" Ara jumped and turned to see Splinter standing in the doorway. _It's called knocking. _She said to herself, but all she said was "Nobody."

"I see." Splinter crossed the room towards her. He sat himself down, leaning against the opposite pole. Ara looked away, angry with him for giving her such an impossible task and for being so unfair. "Many years ago, when I was still human, I…" Ara snapped her head up "Rewind! Did you just say when you were still human?!"

"I was a human at one time, yes."

"Whoa." Ara leaned back on her pole, digesting the information. Ten million questions entered her head, but she decided to save those for another time. Splinter obliviously had a story to tell. "Anyway, back then when I was about your age, I was learning ninjetsu from a very wise man named Master Shin. He had several other students beside me, on being a boy named Kazu. We were good friends. One day Kazu and I were sparing on a hillside. We saw smoke pluming out of one of the town's houses, so we went to investigate. When we got there, we learned from one of the townspeople that there was a five-year-old girl trapped inside. The girl's mother and father had made it out, and they were sobbing and trying to push their way back inside the burning building, but the villagers held them back. So Kazu and I went to the rear of the building when no one was looking and slipped through the back door. We pushed through the flames until we reached the girl's room. But before we could enter, the doorway collapsed. There was a great pile of stone between us and the girl, and the fire was growing at every second."

"What did you do?" Ara breathed, captivated by the story. "I began digging through the stone. Kazu joined in. But the pile was gigantic, and I could barely breathe through the thick smoke. To make matters worse, the house began to creak. I knew we didn't have long before it collapsed all together. Finally Kazu gave up and started for the exit. I begged him to stay and help, but he did not. I, however, stayed, digging and clawing through the stone. They were hot from the fire, and I burned my hands. Finally, though, I made a hole just large enough for me to squeeze through. I entered the room and found the girl huddled in a corner, tears streaming down her cheeks. After explaining that I was there to help, I guided her through the opening. Once we were through, I picked her up and looked around for an exit. But the smoke was so thick, I couldn't see a thing. The flames crawled towards me, trapping me in a circle of fire."

Ara looked up into Splinter's eyes. They were unseeing, wrapped up in the memory. She could almost see the reflections of the flames flickering in his eyes. "The house groaned and creaked. Suddenly, I saw Kazu. He had come back, and was beckoning me. I backed up and leaped over the wall of fire, tumbling into Kazu. He helped me up, and we sprinted out the door. The second we shot out into the cool air, the house collapsed behind us with one last groan."

Ara let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "And the girl?"

"The girl was fine. Her parents were overjoyed. That is why I am having you do this." Splinter gestured up to the handkerchief. "I want to teach you the lesson I learned that day: that no matter how impossible a task seems, if you push through it, you can make it. Great things can happen. It's perseverance. All you need to make that jump is right here." Splinter tapped her plastron with the end of his staff. He rose. "But you may stop whenever you wish. This is not something I can make you do. You must make the decision on your own." With that, he left. Ara sat silently, letting his words sink in. She looked up at the cloth. Now as it waved gently in the air, it seemed to be encouraging her. _You can do it! Come on, I know you can! _With that, Ara got up and began to jump.

Ara woke up shivering. The lair wasn't the warmest place at night in the winter. Of course, it didn't help that she was lying on cold cement, with neither blanket nor bed. She turned her eyes up, barely making out the green on the cloth high above her. She was going to do this if it killed her. She tensed when she heard soft footsteps approaching, then relaxed when she recognized them as Leo's. More footsteps, these a lot louder. Hmmm…. Must be Raph. "What are you doing?!" Came a sleepy hiss from Raph. "What does it look like I'm doing, genius?"

"It looks like you're…"

"Shhhh! She might wake up!" The footsteps neared, and Ara evened out her breathing, pretending to be asleep. There was a loud crash as someone knocked over some weapons. "Raph!"

"Sorry! Who put those there?" A series of quiet clanks followed as they put them back. There was a snort. "It's not like she woke up. Some ninja."

"She's had a hard day." This was Leo. Ara was suddenly engulfed in warmth as a blanket was carefully draped over her. There was a whispered "Good night," then the steps retreated and a door clicked shut. Soon Ara was fast asleep.

Ara walked into the kitchen and carefully placed the green handkerchief in front of Splinter, then grinned proudly. Splinter smiled back. "Well done." Ara sat down at the breakfast table. "I'm starving."

"Then it's your lucky day!" Mikey piped, placing a plate in front of her. "I made omelets!" Ara poked the yellowish substance on the plate with her fork. "What's in it?" Mikey eagerly opened his mouth, but Ara lifted her hand. "Scratch that. Ignorance is bliss, right?" She took a bite and grimaced. Mikey smiled expectantly. "So…how is it? 1 out of 10!" "Definitely a 10." Ara lied, struggling to swallow. "I KNEW you'd love it!" Mikey grinned happily and raced to the stovetop. "And I made lots more!" Ara's eyes significantly widened at this piece of news. She squeaked in alarm as Mikey dished a heaping pile of eggs onto her plate.

The other three turtles looked at her in amusement. "Well, go on!" Raph snorted. "Those eggs aren't gonna eat themselves!" Ara slowly took a bite, her agony obvious. Obvious to everyone but Mikey, that is. He was sitting across from Ara, happily gazing at her as she chewed. He didn't often come across a fan of his cooking! "Gee, Mikey! This is GREAT." Ara said through gritted teeth. "So good, in fact, that I can hardly hog it all. That wouldn't be right. Let them have some. HERE." Ara tossed forks to Leo, Donnie, and Raph and pointedly shoved the plate towards them. Sighing, the three cautiously took a bite. Ara ducked just in time to avoid the shower as they coughed it up.

Mikey's face visibly fell. "I should've known you guys wouldn't like it. Ara is the only tasteful person in this room." Leo rose and dumped the plate into the trash, patting Mikey's shoulder as he left the room. "Maybe next time." With an insulted sniff, Mikey turned to Ara. "Want to come with me and give Pepper a walk? You guys aren't invited."

"Sure." Ara agreed.

"Pepper! Here, boy!" Pepper shot into the room at the sound of Mikey's voice. Ara noticed for what seemed to be the first time how much he had changed over the past few months. His chocolate brown fur had grown long and silky, much like a golden retriever's. He was over twice the size he had been when they had gotten him. Under Mikey's loving care, Pepper had gone from a jumpy and frightful puppy to a loving and active one. Mikey had taught him to sit, stay, roll over, speak, and was currently working on "soak." In this particular command, Mikey was trying to teach Pepper to pick up a water balloon in his mouth, swinging it into the air and onto the desired person's head. The whole household was praying that this trick would fail, but Mikey was determined and Pepper was smart and eager, so Ara knew it was only a matter of time.

"If you guys meet Shredder during your walk, tell him I saved him a Christmas cookie!" Raph called out as they went through the door. "Will do! Ninja's honor!" Ara called back, suppressing laughs. Though she had never met him in person, the ninjas had gone to great lengths to describe Shredder's appearance and past history. Their descriptions always sent shivers up and down Ara's spine. The "Tell Shredder we saved him a cookie" joke was constantly being exchanged, which drove Mikey crazy.

Mikey and Ara walked along for about half an hour, Mikey babbling about one thing or another the whole time. "Well, I guess we'd better head back." Ara finally butted in. "Yeah, your right." Mikey tugged at his pet's leash. "C'mon, Pepper." Pepper didn't budge. He had suddenly started growling, the fur on his back prickling up in distress. "What is it, boy?" Mikey knelt down beside him, patting his back. Pepper would not be comported. "I think there's something bad around here." Ara said, drawing her sword.

"Bad? I wouldn't say bad. More like…capable of crushing to pitiful turtles as they speak." Ara's head snapped to the side at the sound of the deep, snarling voice. A huge dog-like creature with cement spikes emerged from the shadows. Dog Pound. "Master Shredder will be pleased to see you." Ara had seen Dog Pound enough to know how dangerous he was. There was no way Mikey and herself could take him on their own. But maybe if she stalled him, Mikey could… Ara didn't even finish the thought. She took a step towards the mutant. "Mikey, run!"


	8. Chapter 6

_I have some things to say to the commenters: First, to every single person who has commented: Thanks a million times over! Know that comments are the fuel of this story, and every one is read and appreciated. _

_ Thank you, PunkPrincessHP, you were very helpful. Lol, I noticed too the other day how many quotations were out of place. Sorry, I'll try to do better. As to the only one speaker per paragraph rule, I didn't know that. Thanks. _

_ Guest, I loved both of your comments. J Please keep them coming, because as long as there are comments, there will be chapters. Okay, on with the story. _

Abducted Pt. 2

**Mikey**

Mikey scooped up Pepper and ran, naturally assuming that Ara was right behind him. When he was positive that Dog Pound was off his trail, he sank to the floor, breathing hard. "Wow, that was clo…" He turned to face Ara, the words dying in his throat when he discovered Ara was nowhere to be found.

"Ara?" Mikey leaped up in panic. "A-Ara?" Nothing. "Ara!" Mikey's voice rose, ending in a squeak. The silence that followed his calls seemed deafening. Where was she? Wait, had she stayed behind to fight Dog Pound? She did! Mikey's legs wobbled, and he leaned against the sewer wall for support. What to do?! He could go back, but they were probably already gone. Plus, what could he do? He was no match for the vicious mutant.

He had to get help! Yes, that was it. His mind made up, Mikey scooped up Pepper for the second time that day. Pepper was pretty heavy, but that didn't stop Mikey from running like he had never run in his life. It took him two minutes to go the distance it had taken him and Ara fifteen to walk through. He burst into the lair, completely and utterly out of breath. Setting Pepper down, Mikey managed to stumble into the den before he sank to his knees, fighting for air. He was surrounded by his brothers in a second.

"Mikey, are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"Are you hurt?"

Mikey shook his head, just managing to squeak out "Dog Pound," between gulps of air.

Beside him, Leo's comporting hand on his shoulder froze. "Where's Ara?" Tears sprung into Mikey's eyes, and he shook his head harder. "I…I think Dog Pound has her." His brothers all sucked in a sharp breath.

"How?" This was Splinter. He had just walked into the room, his usually composed face creased with worry.

Mikey re-encountered the walk between sniffles and pants. "…And so I came back here for help."

Leo didn't waste any time. He was up, grabbing his katanas from where they lay and sheathing them. "Let's go." Nodding, Raph and Donnie grabbed their weapons. "Mikey, lead the way." Mikey did just that, quickly and without question leading them through the many twists and turns he had taken.

When they reached the battle area, the four turtles froze in horror. There was no one about, but a trail of blood stained the floors. In a horse whisper, Donnie chocked, "Is that…

He was interrupted by a sigh of relief. "No, it's Dog Pound's. With a pained grin, Raph picked up Ara's sword from where it had been lying in the shadows, the tip dyed a bright red. The forced smile on his face couldn't hide the massive fear and worry portrayed in his eyes. "But he has her. Ara would never just leave her sword lying there.

The four brothers examined their surroundings, trying to determine where Dog Pound had went. But the blood splotches abruptly came to an end. A thorough investigation brought no results. It was as if he had gone a few paces, then just…vanished. Into thin air. Because he weighed at least a ton, Dog Pound left little cracks wherever he stepped. But when the blood stopped, so did the footsteps. "I just don't get it!" Donnie finally groaned, throwing his hands in the air. "How did he…Aarrrggg! It's impossible!"

"Well, we aren't getting anywhere just standing here." Raph sighed. "It's a dead end!"

Leo nodded. "We'll wait till nightfall, then head topside. Maybe the purple dragons know something. And if they do…" Mikey had never seen Leo so angry, or so grimly determined. "They're going to talk."


	9. Chapter 7

_Here's Part three. Enjoy! _

Abducted Pt. 3

_ "And you're SURE you don't want me to walk you to your classroom?" Ara looked over at her dad sitting at the steering wheel, his brow furrowed with worry. _

_ She sighed. "Dad, I'll be FINE. I'm thirteen…" He coked an eyebrow. "Ok, in a few months. But I'm a ninja. What could possibly go wrong? It's just SCHOOL." Even as the words left her mouth, Ara could feel her stomach flipping like a fish struggling for air. After being homeschooled for several years, this was her first time actually going to a "real" school. Though she tried not to show it, she was worried. What would the other kids be like? Would they make fun of her? Would her teachers be mean? Were her father's lessons going to be enough? _

_ She was snapped to reality as her father sighed. "I know, honey. It's just that you're so grown up. Soon you're not going to need this old man anymore." _

_ Ara reached over and gave him a big hug. "Ah, dad, I'll ALWAYS need you."_

_ "And I'll always be there for you." _

_ "Promise?" _

_ "Promise." He kissed the top of her head. "Now go out there and kick some butts." _

_ Ara grinned and grabbed her backpack, jumping out of the car. "Hai, sensei!" Her dad rolled down the window. "I did NOT mean that literally!"_

_ Ara rolled her eyes. "I know!" _

_ "I love you!"_

_ "Love you too!"_

_ "Good luck."_

_ "Thanks." Ara waved as she watched her dad's car reluctantly pull away. Turning towards her school, she shouldered her backpack and took a deep breath, brushing a dark brown lock of hair behind her ear. "Here goes nothing."_

Cold. Ara's mind was fuzzy and slow, and it was only aware of one word: Cold. She was freezing; from the tip of he toes to the top of her head. Her fingers were like ice, and her nose felt like Jack Frost had given it a good slap. Ara was sitting on some sort of frigid cement, tied to a cold pole. Sturdy ropes held her in place, and her wrists had metal chains on them, binding her hands behind her back. She shivered. _Where am I? _Ara forced her eyes open, but she might as well just have left them closed. The room was pitch black. "Dad? D-dad?" Ara called out, frightened. Only the darkness answered her calls.

Ara wiggled her fingers, trying to coax some warmth into them. Wait…why did it feel as if there were only three of them? Could her fingers really be that cold? No, she wiggled them one at a time. One, two, three. Same on the other hand. Ara shook her aching head, struggling to make sense of this new development. Why did she only have three fingers?

Oh, wait. It all came back to her in a huge rush of memories. Her father's death, the ooze, looking in the mirror, running away from the orphanage, meeting the turtles, saving them from the Krang, opening her Christmas present, going for a walk with Mikey, meeting Dog Pound, telling Mikey to run, slicing Dog Pound's arm…and then…and then…she didn't remember anything after that.

Ara was suddenly blinded as a flood of light filled the room. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the brightness. For the first time, Ara got a good look at her surroundings. She was in some sort of storage room, or rather, a huge freezer. There were several large boxes and crates scattered around the room. She turned to find the source of the light, her eyes coming to rest on a foot. The black ninja advanced towards Ara, sitting down on a section of the floor about two or three yards in front of her. He set down a plate in front of him, then slid it towards her.

On the plate was a few slices of bread, a hunk of cheese, an apple, and a glass of milk. It wasn't until Ara saw the food that she realized just how hungry she was. All she had consumed the day before was breakfast, because she wouldn't allow herself to eat until she got a hold of that handkerchief. Jumping as high as you can possibly can all day could really work up an appetite, but this morning she only had had one or two mouthfuls of Mikey's eggs. In short, Ara was starving. S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G, starving. She gazed at the plate. The slices of bread were generously cut, and she could tell that they were fresh. Their tempting aroma drifted up towards her, making her nose twitch with interest. The apple was without blemish, and she could just imagine her teeth sinking into the crisp white fruit, the juice dribbling down her chin… okay, now she was definitely torturing herself.

Ara looked up at the foot. "I would thank you, but unfortunately I haven't learned levitation yet, so your little offering is useless to me." She strained on her binds to emphasize her point. The foot stared at her through the bug-like eyes of its mask, unmoved, "Do you guys ever talk?"

Silence.

"No?"

Silence.

"All righty then." She turned back to the plate of food. "It's probably poisoned, anyway." At this the foot started in surprise. He jerked off his mask, his eyes flashing with anger. The foot had jet-black hair and intense dark blue eyes. He looked younger than she had expected, about 16 years old. "It's not poisoned." He hissed angrily. "Why would we poison it? If we wanted to kill you, Master Shredder would want to have the satisfaction."

"Makes sense. But as I pointed out before, it really doesn't matter." Ara jerked her head in the direction of her binds. "And could you turn off the freezing air?"

The foot crossed the room and flipped a switch, the room speedily warming up. "We just turned it on because we thought it would wake you up faster. You were out for like, half an hour."

"WE thought it would wake me up faster? Whom are you referring to by we?"

"Oh, no one special… just the army of ninjas that could kick your shell any day of the week." The foot smirked.

Ara snorted. "Let the fighting do the talking, dude. I've finished off twenty of your so-called ninjas in a single day. But Raph's the record-holder… his best in 24 hours is thirty one."

The foot's face flushed red with anger. "I could beat you with one hand behind my back."

"Oooo… the scary ninja likes to attack girls who can't even move because they're tied up. Why am I not surprised? Typical foot behavior."

They sat there for several moments, glaring at each other. The foot broke the tension with a snort of amusement. "Are we even listening to ourselves? Maybe we started off on the wrong FOOT." He waggled his eyebrows as he said the last word, and Ara couldn't help but to groan at the awful joke. "So what's your name?"

"Ara. And you?"

"Arashi."

"Ara looked at him in disbelief. Really? My grandfather was named that. I'm sorta named after him, only you pronounce my name like _air-uh, _not_ Ah-rah. _It means Storm, right?"

The foot looked surprised. "Yeah. Yeah it does. That's cool."

Ara looked around. "So what time is it?"

"10:00 AM."

Ara finally decided that she had had enough. She slid her foot out and pushed the plate closer towards her. Then she wormed a piece of bread onto her foot and flipped it into the air, catching it easily in her mouth. In this manner she finished off the whole plate, apple and glass of milk excluded.

When she finished she looked up, but the foot had left. In his place stood Dog Pound. Ara noticed the bandage on his arm and swallowed hard. "Bravo." The Dog snarled, hate gleaming in his eyes. "Quite impressive. Too bad your food-flipping skills won't be enough to save you when I get my hands on you." He crossed the room and cut the ropes surrounding Ara with one swipe of his arm. The chains around her wrists followed. Before Ara could move, Dog Pond had her arm, locking it in his merciless grip. "If Master Shredder hadn't given orders that you were not to be harmed, you wouldn't be breathing right now." He roughly jerked her arm, pushing her upright. "Come with me."


	10. Chapter 8

_Ok, guys, I know the foot aren't even supposed to KNOW about the Krang at this point, and I have no idea what nickelodeon is planning to do with the two dark forces, but it was kinda important for them to have an interaction in this story, so I'm going to bend canon a bit more… just roll with it. Comment! _

Abducted Pt. 4

Raph

"Leo, pacing holes in the floor isn't helping our situation any."

Leo paused mid-stride and looked helplessly up at Raph. "I know, I know." He sat down, only to leap up again seconds later. "We can't just SIT here! For…for all we know, Shredder could be torturing Ara right now. That's it." Leo marched towards the door. "I'm going."

Raph nodded in agreement. "Me too."

Donnie leaped up, blocking the exit. "No! Guys, we've been over this. It's a clear, sunny day out there. The streets are packed. We've checked the foot headquarters and the old futon factory… Ara's not in either. We don't know where she is, so the only shot we've got are the purple dragons. Days like this are their busiest. They're out in plain sight, picking pockets and stuff. We can't be seen, so we HAVE to wait till nightfall."

Mikey shook his head from where he sat. "No. Ara needs us. Now."

"Donnie is right. You will wait." Splinter entered the room and sat down, picking up the remote and pushing a button. From across the room, the television came to life. Splinter flipped through the channels until he found the weather report. "But look. There's a storm coming our way in less than an hour. You may go then." The TV flickered, then went black. The room was plunged in total darkness as the lights followed suit. "Whoa, what happened?"

"Is everyone all right?"

"Cool, I can't even see my hand when I wave it in front of my face!"

"Well, Mikey's fine."

"What made the lights turn off?" As if in answer to Raph's question, the television sputtered to life once more. The weather channel had vanished, and in its place loomed the face of Baxter Stockman. Everyone in the room sucked in a sharp breath, and Raph's hand instinctively went to his sai.

TV Baxter didn't notice, busy fiddling with the thing that was obviously recording him. "Darn camcorder. Then again, it's no worse then I expected. Nothing those dirty violet dragons drag in are ever of any quality. Oh, wait. It's working! Baxter coughed, putting on his "evil" face. I suppose you turtles know what we want, so I won't go into that. All you need to know is this: we have your friend. She's fine, but she won't be if you don't do exactly as we say.

Now, we have a deal with those aliens. Krang, I think you call them. They have promised to lend us some very advanced technology… but under one condition. They need a girl named April O'Neill. It seems they have her father, but he won't do as they say. They need her to, uh, convince him. Bring her tomorrow to the futon factory, and we'll give you your friend. If you don't, SHE dies.

The TV's screen shifted, coming to rest on Ara. She was tied firmly to a sturdy chair. Despite the fact that she was a captive, Ara looked surprisingly on top of things, like she knew what to do and exactly how to do it. It was impossible to feel bad for her when she had that confident look on her face. When she spoke, everyone in the room listened intently, hanging on to every word.

Ara swallowed hard. "Uh, I'm supposed to be saying a bunch of ransom stuff right now, but I'm not gonna do that. Now, this whole April thing is ridiculous. I know none of you would ever be idiotic enough to even consider giving her back to the Krang, so we're good there. But I know eventually you guys are going to try to save me. That's the problem. This place is extremely well guarded. They have foots everywhere, 24/7. And even if you got past them, there are traps and security cameras around every corner. In short, if you guys come, you'll get caught. If I thought there was the smallest chance you could succeed, I might not say this. But there isn't so…" Ara looked straight into the camera, her eyes piercing Raph just as effectively as any sword in the world. "Go for the green, but Sensei… Don't let them come." Baxter Stockman's angry and panicked face filled the screen once more, then the television went black. The lights snapped on, but no one in the room moved, still staring at the screen in shocked silence.


	11. Chapter 9

_Here's part 5, guys! Enjoy!_

Abducted Pt. 5

"What was THAT?!" Baxter gestured wildly to the camcorder behind him. Ara nodded. "I know. I did my best, but they're probably gonna come anyway."

"That's not what I meant!" Baxter threw his hands in the air, pacing the room. "Shredder's gonna KILL me!" He took a step towards Ara, clenching his fists. "And I mean that literally!"

"Ah, calm down." Dog pound crossed the room from where he had been watching the scene unfold. "It's like the turtle said, they're going to come anyway. Those guys are so predictable. They have honor and self-sacrifice and all those other signs of weakness." He jerked a thumb at Ara. "You shoulda seen this one come at me this morning. They're all STUPID." He crammed his face right up against Ara's, his putrid breath making her gag as he growled the next words. "Courageous, but STUPID."

Ara glared at him. "I think we define that word differently, Bradford."

Dog Pound studied her for a moment, then let out a deep, growling chuckle. "Maybe so. Why don't we go see how Master Shredder defines it?" He swung his arm out, slicing her bonds.

Ara blinked down at the stray ropes and chains broken on the floor. "You really gotta stop doing that. It's…wasteful." Ignoring her comment, Dog Pound roughly led Ara down several hallways and up quite a few stairwells before he finally pushed her into a dim room lit only by torches along the walls. At the end of the room was a large bulk, but it was shrouded in shadow, and Ara couldn't make out what it was.

"Step forward." The deep voice came from the center of the darkness, and it didn't sound like it was messing around. Ara cautiously advanced, straining her eyes to try to make out the shape in the darkness. A human form rose from the shadow and stepped out into the light. Shredder. "Well, if it isn't Ara Felrane."

Ara blinked. "How did you…"

"Know your name?" Shredder finished, and amused spark flashing in his good eye. "Please, you were all over the headlines. 'Orphan Ara Felrane gone missing.' and such. He raised an eyebrow. "You've changed quite a bit. Anyway, when my spies noticed another ninja, this one female, among the turtles, you think I couldn't put two and two together?"

Ara shook her head, confused. There were so many gaps to his story. Questions buzzed in her head like angry bees tumbling around to escape. Two and two together? He sounded like he had known who she was even before she went missing. How'd he know that she was a ninja in the first place? Lots of people went missing in New York. Why would he single her out as the one who had been mutated into a turtle?

The Shredder must have seen the confused expression on her face, because he sighed in annoyance. "I have MUCH better things to do with my time than explain things to ignorant teenagers, but I suppose I owe you this explanation. Ara could tell by the change in his tone that he was smirking. "Not that I mind giving it. Long ago, I was good friends with two men. One was your despicable newfound sensei, Hamato Yoshi. The other was named Nao Felrane…your father."

Ara gave a tiny gasp. "You…you knew my father?"

"Knew him? I didn't just know him. The three of us were the best of friends, inseparable. But then things changed. There was a woman named Tang Shen. We loved each other. But Hamato could not accept it. Using trickery and betrayal, he stole Tang Shen from me." Ara shook her head. "No. That's a lie. Chang Shen loved Splinter, not you." "SILENCE!" Shredder's hands clenched, the long, sword-like claws of his armor shooting out. "She loved ME!"

Regaining his composer, Shredder went on. "I sought revenge and want after Hamato. Though I failed to destroy him that day, his wife and child were killed. When my clan learned what I had done, they sought me out, bent on revenge. Hunted, I turned to the only friend I thought I had left in the world: Your father, Nao. I told him my story, but instead of helping me, he turned me in to the members of my clan and comported Hamato instead. I, on the other hand, was thrown into the deepest dungeon until I managed to escape years later. But I would not let such a betrayal go unanswered. I searched the world over looking for Nao and finally managed to locate him. He had moved to a ranch in the state of New York where he was happily married, the proud father of a beautiful baby girl. Of course I couldn't let such perfect happiness go unchecked. I'll spare you the details, but what I will say is this: Your mother died three days later in the hospital, and your father barely managed to pull through himself. I highly doubt he would have if he had if he hadn't had such a strong will to live because of you. The years went by, and you grew in both skill and years. You were his pride and joy, Ara. That's something you deserve to know. I searched worldwide for Hamato, but failed to find him, so I turned back to the other stain on my armor: The Felrane family."

Ara found that she couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Shredder's eyes pierced her like a hawk, watching her slightest emotion. _He's enjoying this. _

_ "_I sent Nao a letter informing him that if he didn't show up at my designated address within three day's time, he'd be short one daughter. He came, of course, and this time I made sure he didn't make it to the hospital. However…"

Ara was vaguely aware that Shredder was still talking, but she couldn't hear straight. She couldn't see straight. She couldn't even stay standing. The realization hit her as hard as a tidal wave, and every bit as devastating. Her emotions shook at her, clawing at her insides like a caged tiger. _He killed my dad. He killed my dad! HE KILLED MY DAD!_Ara leaped up at Shredder with only one thought in mind: She had to hurt him as much as she could.

Ara didn't even see the blow until it struck home. She went sprawling across the room, skidding to a stop at Bradford's feet. Chocking back sobs, Ara lifted her hand to brush away the blood trickling from her nose.

"I wouldn't try that again if you value your life. Dismissed." Shredder's words rang across the room, echoing in her ears. Dog Pound jerked her to her feet, a smug smirk plastered on his face. "You heard him." He pushed her towards the door. "Get a move on." Ara's trained eye just saw a human form disappear out the door as she turned around, but she was too grieved to even wonder at who it was. Miserable and defeated, she let Dog Pound lead her back to the storage room without protest, not even caring when he "accidentally" bumped the light switch on his way out.


	12. Chapter 10

_Just a quick reminder for a quick chapter: We left the boys staring at the television screen in shocked silence. _

Abducted Pt. 6

Leo

As usual, Leo was the first to recover. "So what now?"

As if on cue, a huge rumble of thunder boomed overhead. Raph punched his fist into his palm. "Now we go beat some answers out of the punky purple dragons."

Donnie shook his head worriedly. "I dunno. Come to think of it, I really doubt the purple dragons know anything. The foot clan just uses them as thugs to steal stuff. They wouldn't let the purple dragons in on an important thing like this."

Leo nodded. "I know, Donnie. It's a long shot, but it's the only shot we've got."

Donnie furrowed his brow. "Yeah. Unless…" He snapped his fingers, his face lighting up. "Unless…"

"Unless what?"

Donnie pulled out his T-phone, jabbing furiously at the screen. "Unless the tracker on her T-phone is working."

Raph blinked. "You have a TRACKER on her T-phone?!" That is so low!" He froze, then jerked out his own T-phone, eyeing it in disgust. "Is there one on mine, too?"

Donnie stopped mid-type. "Well…yah." Raph's eyes widened. "WHAT? Oh, that is it! T-phone, self-de…"

Donnie leaped up, placing a firm hand on Raph's mouth. "Relax, shell brain! The tracker only works when it's activated." He turned back to his own T-phone. "When I gave you guys the phones, the trackers weren't on. So it's unlikely Ara's is, but it's worth a…" Donnie's eyes shot open wide, and he let out a triumphant whoop. "It is on! It IS on!"

Leo was at his shoulder in a heartbeat. "Where is she?"

"She's at the…at the…" Donnie punched a few more things into his T-phone. "At the old Passoche Building."

"The old what?"

"It's an abandoned skyscraper at the edge of town. I think it's scheduled for demolition in a few weeks. But it's been empty for years. Who knows how long the foot have had it for a hideout?"

"Let's go." Leo turned to the door, only to have a firm hand grasp his shoulder. He turned to discover it was Splinter's.

"Perhaps… you shouldn't go."

Leo blinked. "Sensei?"

Splinter sighed. "You heard Ara. She knows how well you four fight; yet she thought you had no chance against the obviously huge force at work there. I can't let you throw away your lives for nothing."

Leo shook his head. "For nothing? She saved our lives, Sensei. And now that we have the chance to return the favor you want us to sit here and let Shredder have her? We can't do that. Especially now that we know where they're holding her." Leo reached up to his shoulder to grasp his father's hand. "I know that you're worried about us, and that's understandable. If I were in your position, I would have second thoughts, too. But I also know that if you don't let me do this, I'm never going to be able to forgive myself."

There was a snort. "If you don't let ME? This all goes for us, too." Nodding in agreement with Raph, Leo's three brothers took their places behind him.

Leo looked deep into his father's eyes. "Sensei, you have to let us do this. Please."

Splinter gazed at his son for a few more moments, then nodded. "You are right. But Leo…" Splinter squeezed his son's shoulder. "Be careful."


	13. Chapter 11

_ OK, people, last short chapter, I promise! I just want to have one more quick "Captive Ara" scene, then the next chapter will be the big rescue! (Remember this all takes place right after Mousers attack, so yes, Ara does meet Karai before all the brothers, including Leo.) But I'm getting ahead of myself. On with the story, and please let me know what you think!_

Abducted Pt. 7

Karai

Karai watched from the shadows as Dog Pound slammed the door to the storage room shut behind him and marched off. Good. Maybe now that that freak was out of the way she could actually get a look at the turtle up close. With a quick glance around, Karai dashed from the darkness, slipping inside the door and pulling it shut behind her.

It was pitch black inside. _Wow. Bradford's a bigger jerk than I thought. _That was saying something, considering she always underestimated people's character. Karai had been watching from the doorway of her father's makeshift "Throne room" while he had been talking with Ara, and had seen the whole scene unfold. She didn't know why her father had been so cruel to Ara. Well, being cruel was perfectly fine, but he didn't have a good reason to be so. What could he possibly gain? Karai sighed in the darkness, shaking her head. Him and his stupid vendettas.

Karai had felt a twang of pity when she had seen how heartbroken Ara had been at the mention of her father's death. That scared her. Pity was NOT good. It meant weakness. Weakness and vulnerability. When you waste your time feeling sorry for the enemy, you never notice when they stab you in the back. That was one of her father's favorite sayings, and she heard it often.

Groping around in the darkness, Karai finally found a switch and flipped it. "Forget something, Bradf…oh." The turtle across the room blinked in surprise, looking her up and down.

"My name isn't Bradf, it's Karai. Nice to meet you, Slowy."

The mutant glared at her. "My name is Ara, you know."

"I know. Slowy just fits you better."

By now Ara's glare had turned into a full-blown scowl. "Let me out of these chains and I'll show you just how fast this turtle can be."

"Gladly, but that would be against my Father's orders."

Ara stared at her. "Your…father?" Ara looked at her armor, and Karai could see the gears turning.

"Yeah. Shredder's my dad." She said finally, tired of the stare. Ara didn't say a word in reply; she only turned her head away to stare at a wall. Karai crossed the room and knelt down beside Ara so she was at the same level as the seated mutant. "Look, I'm really sorry about your dad…"

Ara's head snapped around, her eyes flashing fire. "You're sorry?!" She sputtered angrily. "You're sorry?! So I suppose you're sorry about my mom, too. Do you know what it was like, growing up without a mother for fifteen years? It was hard, but my father was more than enough to make up for her. And then your dad killed him, too. He tore my whole family from me and landed me in an orphanage, all alone. There hasn't been a single good thing in my life that your despicable family hasn't ruined. For a while my dad and I had a ranch. But then because of the funeral costs of my mom's and old hospital bills of my dad's we couldn't afford to stay and were forced to leave. I had to say goodbye to a horse I had raised from a colt." Ara was leaning more and more towards Karai as her voice rose, straining on her binds.

Karai stood up and backed away slightly, but found that she couldn't leave, captivated by Ara's rant. "When your father killed my dad, I died too. Sure, not physically, but I was like an empty shell with everything sucked out of it. My dad was everything, Karai. With him gone, I had a huge empty space inside me. But then something amazing happened. I found a family in the form of four mutant turtles. And slowly I realized that I wasn't empty anymore. They had filled that hole, or most of it, anyway. Do you know what happened then? I learned that your dad wanted to kill them, too. He's working on it right now. And why? Because of a dispute between them that happened years ago. He wants his stupid revenge, and he doesn't care who he hurts along the way. And you're sorry, Karai?" Ara's shouts had diminished to a whisper. "You come in here, insult me, and then tell me you're 'sorry'. That'll patch things right up, won't it?" She turned her head, a single tear trickling down her cheek. "Just go…please. Just…go." Karai started for the door, hurt and insulted. She jerked the exit open. "Fine. See if I care, circus FREAK." She slammed the door shut behind her, but made sure to leave on the light.


	14. Chapter 12

_ Second-to-last-part! I wanted to have the last part of the rescue portrayed through Ara, and you'll see why once we get to it. But for now, here's Part 8! (Sorry for the delay.) Comment! :)_

Abducted Pt. 8

Leo

Leo knelt on the rooftop, gazing at the skyscraper through his much-used spyglass. "So that's it, huh?"

"Yup." Donnie whispered from where he crouched in the shadows beside him.

"What's the plan, chief?" Leo glanced over at Raph who had just come up behind him, melting into the shadows.

"Well…" Leo focused his spyglass at the entrance of the building. "There's no way we're going through the front doors. Besides running into a host of foots, we'd be guaranteed to set off some sort of alarm."

"Unless it isn't rigged because they knew we'd never be stupid enough to try it." Leo blinked over at Mikey, who was already launching off another idea. "Of course, maybe there ARE alarms after all, because maybe they knew we'd know it was obvious. Or maybe…"

"Thank you, Mikey!" Leo interrupted. "But there are way to many maybes. We'll have to try to find an entrance from the rooftop."

"And how exactly are we gonna get up there?" Raph had a point. The sides of the skyscraper were completely flat and smooth, and Leo doubted their climbing claws would work on the surface. To top it off, there weren't any other buildings closely surrounding it, making it impossible to get high enough for the grappling hooks to be of any use.

Leo turned to his smartest brother. "You wouldn't happen to have a gadget for that, would you?"

Donnie grinned, slinging the satchel he brought on important missions off his shoulder. "You underestimate me, Leo. Of COURSE I do." He tossed gloves to his brothers. "Try these on for size."

Leo eyed them uncertainly. "What are these?"

"Climbing gloves. I modeled them after gecko's feet. You see, gecko's toe pads have little…"

"Donnie, can we pleeease skip the science lesson?" Mikey whined. "I wanna get in there and save Ara."

Donnie sighed. "Fine. They work kinda like suction cups. Just peel your fingers back a bit to release them from the surface while you're climbing."

Leo looked up at the angry black clouds above them. "Let's move." His brothers didn't need provoking. They launched themselves off the rooftop and stayed in the shadows as they approached the building, making a beeline for the side of the skyscraper not facing the street. They stopped at the base, looking to Leo. "Okay, guys. Be careful while you climb and keep away from windows."

Nodding, the three other ninjas turned to the task before them. Leo placed his hand on the building. It stuck fast. He wiggled and jerked his arm in all directions, but it didn't budge. However, when he peeled his fingers back like Donnie had instructed, it quickly and soundlessly came loose. Cool. Leo looked up at the building. It was pretty tall. Tall enough to deal out a death sentence if you fell from it's top, or even it's middle. And that was taking it into consideration that they were ninjas who knew how to land like cats and who regularly leaped down from buildings. Leo had always had a slight fear of heights, and this was enough to make his stomach turn in worry. Climbing up that huge building using gloves he'd never worn before? _Gulp. _But he had to do this for Ara.

Setting his jaw in determination, Leo began to climb. _Hand over hand, hand over hand, keep your eye on the goal, don't look down, get to the top before it rains. Hand over hand, hand over hand, keep your eye… _Leo drilled the words through his head over and over until he reached the top. He pulled himself up onto the roof, plopping down on his stomach as soon as he was away from the edge. He stretched out his arms, hugging the solid cement in relief. "Safety…"

Someone cleared his throat above him, and Leo looked up into the more-than-a-little amused eyes of Raph. "Leo, if you're done hugging the building, we should really be getting on our way."

Leo leaped to his feet, brushing himself off. "I wasn't hugging the building. I was…listening…to, uh…make sure there weren't any foots under us."

"Riiight." Rolling his eyes, Leo pushed Raph aside and looked around the rooftop. It was empty save for a closed door that led into the building.

"How are we going to get in?" At the sound of Donnie's voice, Leo turned to see his remaining two brothers pulling themselves up onto the roof. He crossed the rooftop and tried the doorknob. To his surprise, it was unlocked.

Leo swung the door open wide. "Well, that was easy."

"WAIT!" Leo froze at Raph's panicked call. The mutant raced to the doorway, looked sharply in both directions, then relaxed, patting Leo's shoulder. "Don't worry, Leo. It's SAFE."

Leo groaned, conking him on the head. "Very funny."

"Guys, stop goofing off! What part of being on an enemy rooftop do you not understand?"

Leo looked over in surprise at the angry hiss from Donnie. "Wow. You sound just like me."

"Well, maybe I wouldn't have to if you started acting like a leader again."

Leo considered the point for a moment, then nodded sharply. "You're right… sorry. Come on, guys." They crept silently down several flights of stairs, Leo rolling Donnie's comment through his head the whole time. He was right. The thing was, Leo had grown so accustomed to having four ninjas at his command that now that he was back to three, something just felt missing. He supposed that what with all the patrols and Krang investigations and stuff with Ara, his mind had adjusted to having more options. Ara made things a lot easier. With Ara, there was one more capable ninja to help take down the enemy. Now he felt like the time he had sent Raph home before they went up against Spider Bites…incomplete.

"So, what now?" Leo pulled himself out of the fog of his thoughts and forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand. They had come to the end of the stairs and now six different doors loomed in front of them. Raph gestured to them. "Which one do we take?"

Mikey shrugged. "Do we split up?"

Leo shook his head. "No. We should stick together on this one. Plus, who knows how many forks there are after this one? There must be thousands of rooms in this place."

Donnie nodded. "I know…and I've been thinking. In order for the foots to be efficient and get things done, they can't just wander around getting lost. There must be some kind of system they use to get places."

"What about those light thingies above the doors?" Leo looked at where Mikey was pointing. He was right. Above each door was a tiny light, each a different a different color.

"So the doors must be color-coded." Donnie mused, scratching his chin. "But which door to take?"

The question reminded Leo of something. "What was that Ara said during the ransom video? Something like 'Go for the green?' Why do you think she said that?"

Raph shrugged. "A random burst of team spirit?"

Leo nodded slowly. "Or a hint?" He stood silently for a moment, then nodded his head confidently. "It's the green."

Leo took a step towards the door with the green light, but Donnie stayed put. "Are you sure, Leo? I mean, if she's a captive, I'm sure she didn't exactly get a tour of the building."

Leo didn't change his pace. "I've got a gut feeling. C'mon." With a shrug, his brothers followed him. The green door led to an empty hallway with another six color-coded doors at the end. Leo chose the green door without hesitation. In this manner they went through hallway after hallway, stairwell after stairwell, green door after green door.

After about the twentieth set of doors, Raph threw his hands in the air. "This is ridiculous!" He looked around him. "And I thought Ara said this place was heavily guarded. I haven't seen one bleedin' foot this entire time!"

Donnie nodded. "And it's so quiet. There isn't one sound coming from anywhere or anyone except us. It's…" he shivered. "I dunno, eerie or something."

Leo drew his katanas. "The calm before a storm. Keep moving." They walked through the green door. This time instead of an empty hallway they stepped into a hallway with about twenty doors on each side, the walls painted a vibrant green. Leo grinned. "NOW we're getting somewhere. Okay, guys, split up and search the rooms."

Leo made a beeline for the first door, opening it silently and peering inside. It was completely empty. The next was a closet filled with brooms and mops. This was starting to get discouraging.

Leo put his hand on the knob to the next door, and at that moment he knew. Call it a ninja's sensitivity, a gut feeling, a sixth sense, whatever, but he KNEW. Ara was in there. Throwing the door open wide, Leo leaped into the room, freezing in place when his eyes came to rest on the familiar form.

Ara looked up, her eyes shooting open wide. "Leo?" Leo discovered his frozen limbs COULD move and he was over in an instant, slicing the ropes holding her in place with his katana. He knelt down beside her, engulfing her in a hug. His arms shook as she buried her head in his shoulder.

"Don't EVER scare me like that again." He choked out, suppressing tears of relief.

He felt her shake her head. "I won't."

There was a squeal of delight from the doorway. "Donnie! Raph! Leo found Ara! Leo found Ara!"

Leo broke away and looked towards Mikey, grinning just as happily. "Yup." He turned back to Ara, his face clouding with concern as he saw the dried blood streaking across her face. He took hold of her chin to better examine it. "You're hurt."

"What? Oh, that." Ara brushed his hand away. "It's nothing." She stood up, her happy expression morphing into a scowl. "Anyway, I told you guys NOT to come. But do any of you ever listen to me? No."

Raph snorted. "You don't honestly believe we would let Mikey go back to being the cook, do you? And it's not like we were in danger or anything. I thought you said this place was heavily guarded. We haven't seen one ninja. Strike that, we haven't seen one ANYTHING. This place is like a ghost town." He spread his arms out wide. "Where is the huge foot army?"

At that moment the room was filled with an angry red light as sirens started blaring. The turtles raced to the doorway to see a gigantic number of foots rush through the hallway towards them. Ara gestured to them wildly. "There, Raph. THERE is the huge foot army!"

Raph groaned. "I have got to learn to keep my mouth shut."

Leo spotted a stairwell leading upwards at the end of the hallway. He pointed to it. "We'll never be able to fight them all off! Let's get out of here!" They dashed from the shelter of the doorway and bounded across the hallway, dodging the shower of ninja stars that pursued them. The team raced up the stairs, the foots their heels. The stairs zigzagged straight up, finally coming abruptly to an end at a ceiling.

Donnie blinked, gesturing to the dead end. "They led to a ceiling?!"

Raph shoved him aside. "It's a trapdoor. Watch this." He backed up a few paces, then rammed his shoulder into the top. Sure enough, a trap door flew open and they tumbled out onto the roof of the building, freezing in horror as they took in their surroundings. The once abandoned rooftop was empty no more. It was jam-packed with about a hundred foots, Dog pound punching his fist into his palm right in front of them. Baxter Stockman stood in a corner, holding a remote that Leo guessed was the controller to a line of menacing robots lining one of the sides.

Worst of all, The Shredder stood silently to one side, looking at them with a pleased glint shining in his eye. Leo stood in open-mouthed shock, unable to find words that would do the situation justice. Mikey, however, summed it up quite well: "This is not good."


	15. Chapter 13

_ Hey, guys. Sorry for the HUGE wait. My wonderful grandpa just passed away, so I really haven't had much time for fanfiction. Plus, I had some pretty bad cases of writer's block, but now I'm back on track. This is the last part of abducted, though there is an Epilogue. You may want to go back and skim the last couple of chapters before you read this one if you haven't already, 'cause it's been a while. (Sorry) Enjoy, and as always, comments are very much appreciated. :) _

_ P.S I use the word "Couch" in this chapter sometimes. By this I mean the stone ledge thingy lining the pit in the lair. Does anyone know the correct word for that?_

Abducted Pt. 9

Ara grasped the sword that Leo had just produced from his belt, trying to slow her heart rate. She ran her thumb over the familiar carvings in the handle. Closing her eyes, Ara took a few deep breaths. _Relax, breathe, It's just another fight. No Biggy. _She knew she was lying to herself, but it helped. If she just ignored the fact that she was about to go up against an army of ninjas, a vicious mutant, a line of most likely in-destructible robots, and a man who had more ninjetsu skills than all of her teammates and herself put together, maybe she could actually keep her head and fight well. She opened her eyes. _Okay. Let's do this._

She saw Shredder nod from the corner of her eye, and the opposing army came to life. Ara knocked away a foot, raising her sword to meet Dog Pound's slashing arm at the same time. She swerved to the side, narrowly escaping a flying spear.

As she fought, Ara could feel herself slipping into "ninja mode." She was aware of every single move Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey made. They weren't five different ninjas anymore. They were one. The rest of the world fell away and all that remained were them and their adversaries. When she was like this, every move she made, every counter, every attack, every dodge and defense was as natural and un-thought of as breathing, maybe more so. She didn't even think... her limbs just moved for her.

Ara slowly realized that Leo was slowly leading them towards the edge of the building, which made sense. The edge was their only hope for escape. She peered over the edge when they came to it, her heart sinking to her toes as she took in the concrete hundreds of feet below, with no structures anywhere near enough to risk building hopping. So much for that idea.

"So…what's the plan?" Ara nudged Leo as she struggled to find a weak spot in the robot she was facing.

Leo scanned skies, as if expecting a helicopter to swoop down and pick them up. "I'm working on it, I'm working on it." Ara turned back to the robot, her eyes widening as it's stomach slid away to reveal a huge cannon.

She dove to the side. "Watch out!"

The other ninjas immediately heeded her warning…except one. Mikey was too busy battling several foots to pay much attention. He turned in confusion at Ara's shout. "Wha…?"

The moment's hesitation was all the robot needed. A huge missal shot from it's middle toward the muddled turtle. Mikey gasped, leaping to the side just in time. Stunned and panicked, he didn't take time to consider which side to dive to, and he tumbled over the edge of the building. "Mikey!" Raph leaped over the side after his brother, Leo and Donnie right behind him. Ara lunged forward and grabbed Donnie's ankles just before they disappeared over the edge, but the moment of relief was short-lived. The weight of all four turtles yanked her down, and before she knew it she was tumbling head first over the side.

She fell through space, clutching desperately to Donnie's ankles. Her feet clawed wildly at the building, searching for some kind of foothold. They found none. Ara looked in terror at the ground coming up to meet her. Faster…faster…then the world screeched to a stop. Ara's foot had found something to latch on to, and they did. Hard. Pain shot from Ara's hands, coursed through her body, and came to rest on her feet. Ara let out a pained gasp, squeezing her eyes shut. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. Her feet… they felt like they were slowly being pulled apart, bit-by-bit. The searing hurt was mind numbing. She had never felt a pain so bad in her entire life. There was a shaky sigh of relief directly below her. "That was way too close." Ara managed to open one eye a crack and noted with relief that all the turtles were there, dangling in front of her.

"Mikey, I am so going to kill you."

Mikey glanced warily up at Raph, who was glaring down at him. "This isn't my fault."

"You wanna bet?"

"That robot shot a missile at me!"

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed."

Leo groaned. "Cut it out, you two!"

Donnie twisted his head towards Ara. "How are you even holding all of us up?"

Ara re-shut her eye. "With a certain amount of difficulty. Um, guys… I'm not sure how longer I can do this." She grunted out painfully, trying hard to keep her mind off the ever-growing pain in her feet.

"Mikey." The one barked order from Leo was all the turtle needed, and Mikey quickly climbed the ladder of ninjas, hopping onto whatever it was Ara had latched her feet onto. Ara bit her lip harder as he climbed, getting a taste of salty blood when did so. Raph, Leo, and finally Donnie hurriedly followed suit, and Ara pulled herself onto the foothold, which turned out to be the bridge of the letter H in the giant words PASSOCHE INC. fastened to the building.

Leo looked them all over. "Everyone okay?"

Ara nodded. "For the most part, but I think I sprained my feet or something."

Leo looked at her in concern. "Can you walk?"

"I think so, but I'm gonna wait till we're on solid ground to try."

Leo nodded, then eyed the cement below them. "We can make that jump, easy."

Raph nodded in agreement. "We're almost to the bottom. Piece of cake." He leaped from the H and landed on the ground about 40 feet below. "C'mon guys! Before it starts to…" A loud clap of thunder sounded above them. There was a moment of stillness, then a torrent of water crashed down from the heavens. Ara looked down at Raph just in time to see him slap his forehead. "Rain." Chuckling, the rest of the team made the jump, Ara landing in a roll instead of on her feet. She knelt on the sidewalk, debating whether or not she should attempt standing.

Before she could make up her mind, Leo turned to her. "Okay, now we're going to help YOU home."

Ara rolled her eyes. "No, you're not. I can walk fine on my own." She took a step forward, letting out a pained gasp as sharp jabs of pain engulfed her feet and shot up her legs.

She sank to the ground, but Leo was there before she hit the cement. "Yes, we are." His voice was gentle but firm. Really firm. Ara sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue. And he was right… she couldn't even walk. Leo slung her arm across his shoulder with one hand and put a firm hand underneath her knee with the other, Raph doing the same on the other side.

The rain was coming down in sheets now, and it soaked every inch of Ara the others, making her teeth chatter as it squeezed the last reserve of warmth from her tired body. Ara wondered how it was possible the rain remained in liquid form, it was so frigid. They made it home in record time despite the fact that she was unable to walk, the rain pushing them on.

Master Splinter looked up in relief as they all filed into the welcoming lair, and Ara saw his head nod slightly as he made a head count. He sighed happily as he assured himself they were all there, then snapped into Sensei mode. "Ara, are you all right, what happened?"

Ara smiled to show him there was nothing wrong. "I'm fine, sensei. I just hurt my feet a little."

Raph snorted as he and Leo set her down on the couch in the den. "A little? You took one step and dropped like a rock."

Donnie nodded. Which is why I want to have a look at them. They're probably broken."

Ara shook her head. "No way. You guys are making a mountain out of a molehill. I'm fine."

Raph cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really? Stand up."

Ara paled. "Umm…"

Raph grinned triumphantly. "See my point? Let Donnie have a look."

Ara scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine." Ara didn't know why she was being so stubborn. Maybe it was because she was embarrassed that she had gotten herself captured in the first place and was now trying to act as capable as possible. Or at least that was what she told herself, but Ara guessed the real reason was that she was afraid of how much it would hurt if Donnie prodded with her feet. The sharp pain she had had was gone, but whenever she moved her feet in even the slightest direction, the sharp jabs returned.

Donnie sat down and gently unwrapped the bandages that surrounded her ankles. Ara squeezed her eyes shut and tensed, preparing for whatever pains lay before her. Nothing happened. Ara opened one eye. Donnie was carefully running his hands over one of her feet, brow furrowed and tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. Obviously he had done this before. There was a sharp jab of pain in her feet. "Oops. Sorry 'bout that." Donnie murmured, switching over to the other foot. After a bit of injure-prodding, there was yet another painful jab. Donnie shook his head as he began to re-wrap her feet. "Well, that's not good."

"What's not good?"

"Still, it's no more than I expected."

"What do you mean?"

Donnie obviously wasn't paying any attention. "But it's too bad. Both of them!"

"Donnie! What?! What's wrong with my feet?!"

"She's not going to like this…"

"DONATELLO!"

Donnie jumped three feet in the air at Ara's roar. He glared at her, rubbing his ear. "Blow my ear out, will you? What is it?"

Ara groaned. That's what I've been asking you for the past ten minutes. What's wrong with my feet?"

"Oh." Donnie stood up and took a few steps back. "Umm… they're broken. Both of them."

Ara stared at him. "Broken?"

"Yeah. It's no wonder. You were holding all of us up, and we aren't very light. Which makes sense. Muscle is heavier than fat, you know. Add all our shells and you get a pretty hefty total. I mean, Raph alone is like… Donnie caught Raph's warning glare just in time and snapped his mouth shut. "Uh…it doesn't matter. What DOES matter is you're going to have to stay off your feet for awhile."

"How long is awhile?"

"Five weeks, give or take."

Ara felt her jaw drop. "Five weeks!?" she sputtered out. "I have to sit here and do nothing for five WEEKS?!"

Donnie winced. "Maybe…four?"

Ara flipped onto her stomach, covering her head with her arms in frustration. Her next words were muffled. "Do I need casts?"

"No. The normal bandages will do fine as long as you don't walk."

Mikey sympathetically walked up and patted Ara's shell. "Ahh, don't worry about it, Ara. Five weeks will be up before you know it. And in the meantime, I'll make you some soup!"

He trotted off to the kitchen, a little groan rising in Ara's throat. "Oh, goodie. I must be the luckiest turtle in the world."

There was a chuckle in Raph's general area. "Better you than me."

Ara lifted her head just long enough to glare at him. "Ha-Ha." The room cleared, probably because Ara was in such a bad mood. And with good reason. Today she had been knocked out, tied to a cold pole for half the morning, mocked and hit by the man she discovered had killed her father, had a nice chat with his daughter, gotten her feet broken, and was now completely drenched from rain. Not exactly on her 'top 10 best days' list.

Half an hour later, Mikey bounded into the room, not spilling a drop of the soup he was carrying in the process. "It's finished!" Ara sat up, and felt her nose twitch…in a good way. This was a first. Mikey triumphantly placed a tray on her lap. "Ta-da! Eat up!"

Ara slowly took a bite, her eyes widening as she chewed. "Mikey, this is REALLY good! How'd you make it?"

"I would have made you one of my original specials, but I found this recipe in an old cookbook in the back of a closet. It's called 'Perk-up soup.' I thought you needed some perking up."

Ara eagerly ate the soup. "This is the best thing I've ever eaten! You're amazing, Mikey!"

Mikey grinned. "I know." He contentedly watched her eat for a few moments, then snapped his fingers. "I almost forgot! Finnish up, I'll be back in a jiffy." Just like that, he was gone. Ara took a few more bites, then slurped down the rich broth, letting a contented sigh escape from somewhere deep inside her as it warmed every inch of her rain-chilled body. Mikey appeared moments later, loaded down with pillows and blankets. "Get up."

Ara sighed. "I can't, remember?"

"Yes, you can. Do a headstand or something." Ara complied, the world turning upside down as she hopped off the couch. Mikey put two layers of thick blankets over the hard stone of the seat, then fluffed up a few pillows and propped them to one side. "Okay, go back now."

Ara rolled her eyes happily. "Yes, sir." She got back onto her perch with only a bit of difficulty, settling down and letting her head fall back on the cool pillows.

Mikey tugged a warm, fluffy blanket over her, tucked it under her chin, then dusted off his hands happily. "There. Now you're all nice and cozy."

Ara nodded groggily, suddenly very sleepy. "Yah. Thanks, Mikey."

"Wait. You need one more thing." Mikey handed her a well-worn teddy bear. "He's really good at keeping the scary things away at night. You can borrow him." Ara hugged the bear to herself; the warm cocoon of blankets lulling her to sleep. She shut her heavy eyes, murmuring out a thank you to Mikey. Ara had only one thought before she surrendered to sleep entirely: She really was the luckiest turtle in the world.


	16. Chapter 14

_Hey, guys! There has been quite a request for romance recently, so that will come in the next chapter. (An interlude while I work on the next "episode.") This is just an epilogue, and it was kind of hard to write. Climbing into a wise old sensei's head? Not easy. _

_ Thanks PunkPrincessHP for your well wishes, they helped. :) Oh and yah, I accidentally left some loose ends untied. (Bradford's tracks disappearing, how Ara knew they should follow the green lights, etc.) They all have really boring explanations that I won't torture you with, but if you're curious about those or some other things you noticed unanswered, just let me know and I'll PM you. _

_ P.S. When April was talking to Karai on __Karai's vendetta__, Karai told April her name was Harmony. Do you know what the name Miwa (Splinter's daughter) means? You guessed it, Harmony. Coincidence? You decide. _

Abducted Epilogue

Splinter

Splinter gave a contented sigh, letting himself go limp and relax. This was by far his favorite part of the day. All his sons were in bed, and he could now, and only now, completely let go of the reigns of responsibility he held all day. Sure, he could meditate and relax to a certain extent during the day if he wasn't busy training, but there were always those worrisome whispers disrupting the peacefulness of his thoughts. What if Mikey went into Donnie's lab and set the lair on fire again? Was that crack the sound of his father's old sword breaking? How was it humanly possible for five ninjas to make that much noise? I thought I told them NOT TO SKATEBOARD IN THE LAIR! Wait…now it was too quiet…Mikey must be sick, or something. The list of worries and disruptions stretched on and on. On bad days, Splinter sometimes actually considered marching into the room, pressure pointing them all off to dreamland, and marching off again. Not that he's ever done it, of course. But now with all four…make that five…ninjas fast asleep, he could actually relax. His mind was free to wander, and it eagerly turned to a past memory. Before long he was sucked up into it, a tiny smile playing on his lips as he let himself remember.

_Hamato paced nervously up and down the room, running his fingers through his hair as he chewed on his lip in worry. What if something had gone wrong? What if it wasn't healthy? It shouldn't TAKE this long! He forced himself into a chair, tapping his foot wildly. A nurse pushed the waiting room door open, and his head snapped towards her, searching her face for news. She beamed at him. "Everything went perfectly. You have a beautiful baby girl."_

_ He stared at her, processing the words, then leaped into the air. He snatched the nurse's arms, a relieved laugh bursting out of his mouth. "I'm a father!"_

_ The nurse smiled back, not fazed in the least. Obviously she was used to hysterical first-time fathers. She nodded. "Yes you are. Congratulations!"_

_ "And Tang Shen?" _

_ "She's fine. Just a bit tired. But like I said, everything went perfectly. You have a healthy, rosy-cheeked little girl." _

_ His eyes shining, Hamato turned to the only other occupant of the delivery waiting room, a graying man in his late forties. "I have a baby girl!"_

_ The man gave him a knowing smile and turned back to his magazine. "Congrats, kid. Wait 'till you got seven of them." _

_ Hamato turned back to the nurse. "Can I see them?" _

_ She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "It's probably best if Tang Shen has a few minutes to rest. But if you wait here, I'll see what I can do about the baby." _

_ The nurse left the room, re-appearing a few minutes later with a pink-blanketed bundle. She laughed as he turned to her eagerly. "Sit down first." Hamato obeyed, and the nurse placed the soft bundle in his arms, folding a corner of the blanket back to reveal a tiny pink face._

_ Hamato stared at it in joyful awe. She was so tiny! So tiny and perfect. The baby slowly opened one eye, then the other, and Hamato found himself under the steady gaze of the just minutes-old baby. She looked at him with those huge brown eyes for a few moments, and then she smiled at him._

_ People always told him that babies didn't smile on purpose until at least six weeks, but Hamato could have sworn that that was what the tiny little baby was doing. It was a 'Hi, dad. Took you long enough to get here' smile. Then she closed her eyes, her tiny little lashes fluttering a moment before they stilled completely. Right then Hamato knew: Miwa. Her name would be Miwa. _

_ Miwa grasped his pinkie in her tiny palm, a little smile gracing her face as she fell asleep contentedly in his arms. In that moment, Hamato had only one worry: that his heart might burst for all the joy welling up inside it. _

Splinter's mind didn't stop there. It zoomed fast-forward and came to a screeching halt on a memory a few months after the last one. The smile on Splinter's face left him, but he didn't try to stop the memory. After all, he couldn't hide from it forever.

_Hamato knelt in front of the smoking ruins that had once been his home, the pain from the several treated wounds on his body just another unwanted reminder that he was alive and the two most important people in his life weren't. The shock from losing his family he had had this morning had left him, but he wished it hadn't. Shock numbed you, and with it gone, all that remained was a clawing, slashing hurt a million times worse than any possible physical affliction. _

_ A breathless voice sounded behind him. "Hamato…" Hamato didn't turn around at the sound of the familiar voice, but it came to him, shaking hands grasping his shoulders. "Hamato…" _

_ He opened his eyes and looked into Nao's concerned face. He grabbed at Nao in desperation, his next words thick with grief. "They…they're gone, Nao. Oroku Saki…he…he…" _

_ A tear trickling down his cheek, Nao put a hand on Hamato's mouth, shushing him. "I know, Hamato." Nao cupped his hands under Hamato's chin. "I'm sorry, Ottie. I'm so sorry." The old nickname undid Hamato completely. The last time Nao had called him Ottie, he had been twelve years old and Nao had been eight. When he turned thirteen, he had officially decided that he was too old for nicknames. But now… Hamato erupted in sobs, the wave of tears streaking freely down his cheeks. Nao wrapped him in a hug, rocking gently back in forth as he smoothed back his hair. "Shh, Shh… I know, Ottie, I know." A drizzle of rain began to fall, matching the mood. _

_ Hamato hadn't cried in years. It's not that he had thought that there was anything wrong with it. On the contrary, he thought it was good for some people. Women and children and such. They could cry. But he, Hamato Yoshi, the ninjetsu master? HE would not cry. He had other, more subtle ways of dealing with his emotions. But this tragedy had stripped him of all that past pride, and he let himself be rocked in the familiar arms, choking out the sobs until there was none left. Nao finally broke away and looked at him at arm's length, brushing the tears from his old friend's eyes. "Ottie, I'm leaving for America in a week. Come with me, please. There's nothing left for you here."_

_ Hamato hesitated only a moment before nodding. I'll come Nao. I'll come." _

Splinter's ear twitched to the side, and he jolted himself out of the memory. What was that sound? It was hard for even his huge, trained ear to pick up. A tiny whimper. There it was again. And again. Splinter rose and followed the sound. It led him to the den, where Ara was asleep on the couch. Her brow was furrowed, and she tossed and turned, whimpering and muttering things in her sleep. "No! No, don't hurt him! Dad! D…dad!"

Splinter shook her shoulder. "Ara! Wake up!"

Ara's eyes shot open, wide with fear. She sat up in bed with a gasp before taking in her surroundings. After noticing Splinter, Ara lifted a hand to her forehead. "Oh…sorry, Master Splinter. I must have been having a nightmare."

Splinter pulled up a chair, sitting down beside the couch. "Yes, indeed."

Ara looked up at him with those big brown eyes of hers. "Sorry if I woke you up." Ara's eyes were exactly the same color as her father's had been. They were a warm, chocolate brown color with darker and lighter slivers of brown streaking across them. When she was angry or sad, the lighter streaks almost seemed to disappear, swallowed up by the darker shades. But when she was happy…. they just…sparkled.

After Ara had dropped through the ceiling on that fateful day, Splinter had had quite a shock when she sat up and opened her eyes. It was as if he had been yanked back in time and was staring into Nao's friendly eyes once more. After she had told her tale, it had been all Splinter could do but mumble out that she could stay and get the hell out of there before he started crying over Nao's death or clapping Ara on the back or something.

Ara fingered her blanket, he next words soft and hesitant. "Sensei…do you ever miss being human? I mean, even just a little?"

"Yes. Often more than just a little. There's a lot to miss."

Ara nodded. "Wouldn't it be nice to have five fingers again? Maybe some hair?" She paused. "Well, I guess you don't have THAT problem."

Splinter chuckled. "You can say THAT again."

"There's…just something about the word mutant." Ara ventured, going back to her blanket. "It says, I dunno, deformed, unnatural. The kind of thing that makes people run away terrified when they see one. One time I accidentally crossed paths with this girl. She, uh, sprinted away screaming." Ara looked down at her green hands. "Am I really that scary?"

"Do you think you are?"

"I…I don't know."

Splinter decided to try another approach. "Do you think my sons are?"

Ara's eyes widened. "No! Not at all! They're the most wonderful people I ever met, every one of them. They're all so…" She paused, struggling to find the right word. "Magnificent. Mikey is so innocent and goofy and kind, Raph's…um…well, Raph's a coconut."

Splinter blinked. "A coconut?"

Ara grinned. "Sure. Tough and rough on the outside, but mostly sweet and soft on the inside. Mikey told me that once. Donnie's a genius, obviously, but he's also patient and gentle and a really great listener. And Leo is…"

Ara stopped, pink spreading across her features. Splinter smiled. He had long ago noticed that spark of special affection Ara had for Leo. Splinter didn't think Ara noticed, but it was the same with him. "Leo's the best leader anyone could ask for. He's smart and caring, and you know that whatever happens, he's going to get you through it. That's what makes me so angry. They're all so wonderful, and they can't even go out in public. Donnie will never get to go to Harvard and become a world-renowned genious like his deserves. I mean, they guy's fifteen and he's already building a bunch of awesome things. He's smarter than all of us put together, and that's not a figure of speech. He builds all of his inventions out of garbage…the stuff he manages to scrounge from junkyards. Can you imagine what he could do if he only had the chance…the materials? And then the fact that Mikey will never get to ride a roller coaster or make a bunch of friends drives me absolutely nuts."

Splinter found himself nodding. Ara was voicing the thoughts he had had for years. "And they don't know what all that stuff is like, but I do. I know that, all things considered, I'm way better off than I was at the orphanage. But whatever I do, no matter how many good things I remind myself I have, I can never forget and can never stop wishing, longing. Does it ever go away?"

Ara's eyes searched his, waiting for his words of wisdom. Splinter wished he had some to give. He gave a tired sigh. "Not completely. No matter what you do, there will always be that little itch, that whisper of what was and is no more. But the thing is, you can't just smother the bad and unpleasant things with the good. It distracts you from them, and takes away the longing for a time… but the unpleasant thoughts always come back, and stronger than ever. You have to face them, and learn to accept. That's not easy to do, but once you accept it you will realize you have found peace. And it never hurts to appreciate what you DO have, because you never know if that will be taken from you as well. Do you understand, my child?"

Ara nodded slowly. "I think so."

"Good." Ara lay back down, and Splinter pulled her blanket up to her chin. "Now, it's been a strenuous day for all of us. Try to get some sleep."

He started to rise, but Ara stopped him. "Sensei, could you stay a while?"

Splinter nodded with a smile, sitting back down. "Of course. Just go to sleep." Ara closed her eyes with a grateful nod. Splinter settled back into his chair, absent-mindedly beginning to hum a tune that he had learned as a child and had often hummed to Mikey during thunderstorms years ago. Several minutes later, Ara was asleep, her breathing slow and peaceful.

As Splinter looked on fondly, he was suddenly reminded of Neewa… of the daughter he had never gotten to raise, had never gotten to see grow up. He thought of all the things he had planned doing with her the day she was born: How he would train her, the things he would do with her, and most importantly, who he would mold he into; the type of person she would turn out to be.

All those dreams had been yanked from his hands from Shredder, not unlike the way Ara's father and sensei had been yanked from hers. And now they had been thrust together. Coincidence? He thought not. Fate? Destiny? Perhaps. Or maybe… he glanced skyward. Maybe, just maybe, this was Nao's doing. He shrugged to himself. Then again, maybe not.

Splinter knew that he would never be able to be a father to Ara. Sensei, yes. Guardian, yes…but father? That role would always and forever be Nao's, even if he was no longer on this earth. And he was okay with that. But that wasn't going to stop him from teaching her and training her and guiding her through those teen years, all in his own way. There would be tears and laughs, defeats and triumphs. Splinter gently brushed a stray end of Ara's green mask out of her face, and then stood up with a stretch. But all those things would come in good time. Right now, it was time to sleep.


	17. Chapter 15

_ Here's an interlude before I plunge into the new episode __Mind games__. That's a shortish, funny, light-hearted episode I've been dying to give you guys… but first I have to type it out. *groans* _

_ Anyway, the present chapter was created on a demand for more romance. Sorry, no kiss yet. It's coming. Ashley, MrsDragonfire911, and a certain guest, this one's for you. :)_

Abducted/ Mind games interlude

Ara

Ara quickly glanced in both directions. The coast was clear… no turtles or sensei in sight. But this mission would require flawless stealth and utmost bravery. She slid off the couch and onto her stomach, bending her knees so that her lower legs and feet jutted into the air to prevent from hurting her broken feet. Ara crawled forward, arm over arm, soldier-in-trenches style. Her mission: To obtain one of Raph's comic books from where they lay at the far end of the pit. Okay, yeah, it was a really stupid mission, but after two and a half weeks of sitting on the couch doing nothing while everyone else went topside, she was willing to do anything that required getting off the cursed couch. Ara closed in on her target. Three yards, two yards, one y… "Ara!"

Ara flinched at the exasperated voice, and looked up to see Donnie. "Oh, um…hi."

Donnie jumped down into the pit, then placed his hands on his hips and started tapping his foot impatiently. "Ara, I've told you a thousand times: No getting off the couch! You don't want to wait another four or five weeks if you hurt them, do you?"

Ara lowered her head, mumbling out, "No."

"Well then…"

"Supper!" Raph's voice rang from the kitchen. It was his turn to cook, which meant they were probably having takeout.

Ara looked hopefully up at Donnie. "Can I eat in the kitchen with everyone else instead of on the couch?"

"No."

"But I…"

"No."

"Oh, come o…"

"No." Ara sighed. Donnie rarely put his foot down like this, and when he did, there was no bending his iron will. But she had one more tactic to try. Ara sniffed, widening her eyes in a cute, pleading sort of way. Ara saw something flicker in Donnie's stony expression. He was giving way. Donnie let out a groan. "Ara don't… No! You can't…" Ara let her chin wobble with another sniff. Donnie threw his hands in the air. "Okay, okay, fine!"

With a squeal, Ara reached forward and squeezed Donnie's feet into a hug. Donnie shook his head, but when she looked up he was fighting a grin. "Mikey teach you that one?"

"Maybe." With that, she raised herself into a headstand and started for the kitchen.

Raph rolled his eyes as she entered the kitchen and strategically climbed onto one of the benches. "Welcome back, Ara. You've been in couch land for far too long."

Ara smiled. "I'll second that. And we're having…"

"Chinese."

Leo walked in and seated himself across the table from Ara, raising an eyebrow. "Does Donnie…"

"I know...and it's just this once." Donnie entered the kitchen, dragging along Mikey by one of his mask ends.

Mikey was clawing the air behind him. "I was almost to the BONUS LEVEL, Donnie!" Donnie sat Mikey in a chair before sitting down himself. Raph tossed everyone a takeout carton and some chopsticks, which was the normal amount of service he usually gave on his days to "cook."

Ara grabbed a fortune cookie. Mikey always insisted they open them first because he couldn't stand to wait until afterwards. Raph opened his, reading aloud as he chewed on the cookie. "You are an impulsive hot head." He blinked as snickers started sounding around the table, wrinkling the little slip of paper in disgust. "What kind of fortune cookies are these?!"

Mikey grinned. "True ones."

Raph conked him on the head. "Whatever."

Donnie opened his. "Your girlfriend is approaching?"

Just then, April walked into the kitchen. "I just got a text from my Aunt and I have to leave." She grabbed her backpack from the corner and headed out the door. "See you all tomorrow!"

Everyone's mouths dropped. After a moment, Mikey spoke. "That. Is. CREEPY."

Donnie looked angrily at the slip of paper. "She's not my girlfriend!"

Ara swallowed hard. "Who's next?"

"I'll go." Mikey slowly opened his wrapper, humming the tune to _The Twilight Zone_ as he did so.

Raph rolled his eyes. "This was all a coincidence. They're just normal fortune cookies."

Mikey cracked his cookie in half, ate it, then slowly read the fortune. "You are wise beyond your years."

Raph grinned triumphantly. "See? That's the opposite of the truth."

Leo had already opened his and was reading the fortune. "Your leadership qualities will be tested and proven." He raised a brow at Raph. "Not true?"

Raph shook his head, stubborn as always. "I'VE gotten that one before."

Ara took her cookie from it's wrapper, ate it, then silently read the fortune with all eyes on her. Ara furrowed her brow when she finished. "What does THAT mean? It's not even a fortune!"

"What? What does it say?" Mikey craned his neck to try and read the fortune, so she handed it to him. He read it aloud. "Blue and green go well together?"

Donnie scratched his head. "Sounds more like an artist's tip than a fortune. Wait a minute. Blue and green?" Donnie looked at Leo. "Blue…" he turned to Ara. "And green?"

Mikey nodded. "Oh, I get it. That's fortune cookie for Leo and Ara are in Looooove." Donnie, Raph, and Mikey exchanged glanced, their faces twisting and contorting as they tried to hold back giggles. Finally a little snicker escaped from Mikey and suddenly all three of them were howling, holding their sides and pounding on the table.

Ara turned scarlet, sat awkwardly for a few moments, then did the only reasonable thing to do: picked up her chopsticks and started eating. She looked up at Leo only once, and then he was eating too, his face as red as she imagined hers was. The other three eventually stopped laughing after about, oh, ten minutes of agonizing embarrassment. When they finally caught their breath, Raph grinned. "Maybe you're right, Leo! I think those things ARE true!" Leo excused himself, and Ara followed soon after. She grabbed a couple of Raph's comics on her way back to the couch, preparing herself for another boring evening.

* * *

Buzzz. Buzzzzzzz! The vibrating sound of Ara's T-phone woke her, and she lay there for a moment, debating whether or not to pick it up. She was in a REALLY comfortable position and… Buzzz! B-b-buzzzzzzz! Reminding herself that T-phones were for emergencies only, Ara fumbled along the floor beside the couch for the T-phone, finally finding it in the pitch-black room. She blinked for a moment as she brought it to her face, her eyes adjusting to the brightness. It was 2:00 in the morning. What could it possibly be? She selected the new text message from Leo, reading the words.

**Donnie says there's a big meteor shower 2nite. Want 2 c it?**

Ara rolled her eyes. Some emergency. **Sure but it will b kinda hard 4 me 2 get up there. **

No more that 20 seconds after she sent it off, there was a buzz. **I could cum get u. **

Ara shrugged to herself. **K. **

Minutes later, the lights snapped on to reveal an exiting-looking Leo. "It's about to start!" He picked Ara up, one arm going underneath her knees and the other supporting her back. _Just like a groom sweeping a bride off her feet _a tiny part of Ara's mind whispered. Ara quickly told her brain to shut up. Ara was the lightest of all the turtles, probably because she had smaller muscles, so Leo easily carried her out of the lair and through several stretches of sewer, but then they were staring at an open manhole five feet above their heads. Leo tapped his foot. "I didn't exactly think this far."

"Just toss me up."

Leo looked doubtful. "You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I'm a ninja, remember? APRIL could do it."

"Okay…" Leo shifted his hold so that he was grasping Ara's waist. "One, two, THREE!" He launched her into the air. Ara's ninja reflexes did all the work, and she got a hold of the rim and pulled herself onto it.

Ara sat on the cement next to the manhole, looking around. A homeless dude sat up from where he had been laying under a newspaper, eyed her for a moment, then said, "Nice weather we're having, huh?"

Ara looked at the black sky. "Umm…. yeah. So you're not going to run away?"

The man shrugged. "Nah. I've seen a lot weirder than you in this city…giant spiky dogs and stuff. Those darn aliens are the worst. Besides, you look nice enough. Spare a buck?" He held out a tin cup.

"Sorry. I don't have anything on me."

The man nodded, lowering his cup. "The mutants never do. Well, g'night." He lay back down, Ara staring at him the whole time.

Leo surfaced from the manhole. "He's a weird one, isn't he?"

Ara nodded, realizing he had been listening to their conversation. "You said it." Leo carried her up a fire escape to the top of a building, and Ara couldn't help but sigh when they reached the top. "I really wish I could walk again. It would feel so good to jump from building to building, just kinda free, you know?"

"Yah…" Leo's words trailed off as one of his thoughtful looks to over his features. "Hey, why don't you move to my back?"

"Okay…" Ara shifted so that she was grasping onto his shoulders from behind, holding onto his sides with her knees. Just like she used to do riding bareback on a horse, only…turtle version.

Leo tilted his head back at her, smiling mysteriously. "Got a good hold?"

"Yah. What are we doINGGG!" Leo took off like a shot, launched himself off the edge of the building, and soared into the air. Ara's eyes widened in surprise, then squeezed shut in bliss as she sucked in the crisp, fresh air. Leo landed lightly on his feet, only to launch himself off the next building, this time spiraling straight forward.

And so it went, Leo soaring and spiraling and doing flips that Ara never thought were possible with her tagging along, and all the while Ara was grinning, failing miserably to hold back giggles of glee, and just basically having the time of her life. Sure, it wasn't quite as fun as when she did it herself, but it was the next best thing. Defiantly the next best thing. And for someone who had spent two and a half weeks on a couch in a sewer doing nothing, it was pure heaven.

Ara sighed happily as Leo did a high spiral into the air, unable to wipe the grin from her face. Yep. This was freedom.

Finally Leo stopped, breathless and grinning. "How…was that?"

Ara slid around and Leo caught her in his arms once more. She beamed at him. "You know how it was. Amazing." She reached forward and gave him a hug. "Thanks."

"No problem. Just don't tell Donnie, okay?"

"Well, duh. Where is Donnie, by the way?"

"Right there." Ara looked in the direction Leo had nodded to. Donnie was sitting on the edge of a building three away from theirs, right next to April. He would point into the sky every now and then, probably showing her constellations.

Ara smiled. "He looks pretty darn happy."

"Yah. I think we should keep our distance. He doesn't get a lot of alone time with April." Ara nodded, and Leo set her down against one of the walls of a staircase opening. He sat down beside her, then pulled out his T-phone, checking the time. "It should start sometime around now."

All of a sudden the street was plunged in darkness as every streetlight, house light, and any other source of man-made brightness was snapped off. Several angry curses sounded in the houses surrounding them. Ara looked quizzically at Leo. "How…?"

Ara just managed to make out a smile on his face in their darkened surroundings. "Now you know the advantages of having Donnie as a brother. It's a lot easier to see the sky." His eyes widened. "It's starting!"

Ara looked up into the sky. Bright slivers of light streaked through the heavens, as if a star was hosting a pizza party on the planet over and everyone was rushing to get to it. Ara blinked. Did she honestly just think that? Mikey had been keeping her company over the past couple weeks, and Ara was beginning to think that he had been keeping her TOO much company. Leo heaved a sigh next to her. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Ara gazed at the silver blotches soaring through the inky black sky and smiled. "Yah…it is."

"It's just kind of nice to be out here for once, and actually to be having fun." Leo knitted his hands behind his head. "I don't have to worry every second about leading, and I don't have to stress over making the right decisions. I can just relax and enjoy the view."

Ara nodded. "I hear you. Right now, the Krang? And Shredder? And the foot clan? And all those evil mutants? They don't exist. But of course I just ruined it by bringing them up."

Leo laughed. It was a carefree, real laugh that Ara rarely heard from him, as opposed to his usual bitter snorts and short chuckles. "No, no, it's fine. You just reminded me that all our adversaries are most likely asleep in bed. Somehow, Shredder doesn't seem so threatening when you picture him snoring with drool coming out of his mouth."

Ara snorted, joining in. "Wearing his _My Little Pony _pajamas."

"And hugging his poor, abused teddy bear."

"And muttering how that Xever sushi is really coming back at him."

"Xever ticked him off one too many times?"

"Yup. But what he doesn't realize is that Xever was poisonous. He's going to have diarrhea tomorrow, and I mean bad."

Then Leo did something Ara had never known him to do: he giggled. "Eeeeww!"

"Could you guys pipe down?!" Donnie shouted irritably a few houses over.

"Sorry Donnie!" Ara and Leo called in union, only to erupt in laughter seconds later.

"Is this because I laughed at the fortune cookie?!"

The two exchanged glances before Ara called out, "Maybe…"

"Well I'm sorry!"

Leo rubbed his hands together with an evil smile. "How sorry?"

A groan drifted from Donnie's direction. "Sorry enough to do all your guys' chores for the rest of the week if you SHUT UP!"

"Done!" Leo and Ara settled back, gazing into the sky once more. All their chores for a week? This chance did not come often. Ara's chores these days usually consisted of fixing broken weapons and doing homework, but she was pretty sure she could convince him to hold the offer until she could walk. Donnie was that kind of guy, and it made you feel kind of bad for blackmailing him.

All of a sudden, Ara found herself talking. "My dad and I used to do this." She whispered. "We'd go to the top of our house at the ranch. It had a flat roof just so we could do that."

Leo didn't say anything, but Ara could tell he was listening. "He's ask me about my day, and then he'd say how well I was doing in training and what he wanted me to work on. Sometimes he'd tell stories, and a lot of them had Splinter in them. We'd just look at the stars and let all the worries of the day slip away. He'd always say, 'Well, little cherry blossom, I think it's time you went to bed.' And then he's tweak my nose and we'd go inside and he would tuck me in. Even when we moved here, we still did that. It was kinda our thing."

Ara let out a shaky breath, her eyes beginning to sting. "But now he's gone. There's not a lot I wouldn't give to be able to do that again with him, just once. But he's gone."

Leo put his arm around her shoulder. "He is. And I know it's not much, but you have us. You have me. And we'll always be here for you. That's a promise."

Ara leaned against his shoulder, watching as the last few meteors streaked across the sky. "I know."


	18. Chapter 16

_ Okay, guys, here's Mind Games...or at least part 1. You have NO IDEA how fun this was to write. It starts out a little slow while I set it up, but trust me, this is gonna be epic._

_ Anyway, thanks _FilmGeek-BookNerd12, Guess, and Natures Ruler for your frequent reviews, they are the fuel of this story. And thanks to everyone else who reads this, I seriously love you guys. Anyway, enjoy! (And comment.) :)

Mind Games pt. 1

Ara looked up at the ceiling, tapping her fingers against her leg. Three weeks and four days she'd been sitting here, going topside only once for the meteor shower. Three weeks and four days. How many hours was that? She didn't even know. The highlight of this week had been meeting leatherhead, even IF he had almost bitten her head off. She looked at the clock. 8:27 P.M. Everyone else would be going up for their nightly patrol pretty soon now. Mikey had supposedly seen Dr. Falco around an old building yesterday, so they'd probably try to track him down.

What would she be doing? She could… read Raph's comics again, watch some TV, try and fail to beat one of Mikey's high scores…Ara shook her head. No. No, no, no. She would not, COULD not do that for one more day, unless she wanted to go crazy. She was getting off this stupid couch for good.

Ara swung her legs around so that they touched the floor. She hesitated only a moment before standing up. No pain greeted the deed like she had half-expected, so she took a cautious step forward. Then another. And another. Ara bounced up and down on her heels, then on her toes, but she didn't feel anything. No tingling, nada. Ara paused. That thought sounded eerily familiar. Oh yah, she had thought it before when she was toying with the mutagen. Ara froze. Look how THAT had turned out. Maybe she should go back to the couch after all… Ara shook the thought from her mind. No way. She walked briskly around the pit, then sped up to a jog. She expected a sickening crack to come, along with shoots of pain rising up her foot, but it didn't happen.

With a delighted laugh, Ara walked into Donnie's lab, where he was tweaking the patrol buggy. "Hey, Donnie. What you working on?"

Donnie scratched his chin, deep in thought. "Hi, Ara. I'm just…" He stopped mid-sentence, his head snapping up. "Ara! What on earth are you doing off the couch?!"

Ara shrugged. "Walking. My feet feel fine."

Donnie opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again, then groaned. "You are JUST LIKE Raph, you know that? One time he broke his foot, and you lasted two whole days longer than he did." Donnie pointed to the ground beside him. "Sit." Ara obeyed, and Donnie undid the bandages around her ankles, felt around both feet, then re-did them. "Fine. You can walk. But you have to promise me, no high-speed sprinting and none of your famous mega jumps for at least another week."

"Yes!" Ara shot into the air, then took off to tell the others. "Thanks, Donnie! You're the best!" She trotted into the training room, where Mikey had Leo in a complicated hold while Leo gave him tips on how to improve it. "Leo! Mikey! Donnie says I can walk!"

Mikey's eyes widened in surprise, and he absent-mindedly tossed Leo to the ground. "Really? Awesome!" Leo rose with a groan, rubbing his shoulder. He conked his brother across the head, but Mikey ignored it. "We have to do something to celebrate! How about we do some skateboarding?"

Ara swallowed hard. "I…don't think so. First off, I don't have a board. Secondly, I don't exactly know how to skate. On a board… or really even skate at all, for that matter."

Mikey's jaw dropped. "You've never gone SKATEBOARDING?! How do you live?"

Ara rolled her eyes. It's called breathing."

"Well, you're learning. Today."

Ara looked doubtful. "About that… I don't exactly have the best track record with things on wheels."

"Well, we're going to improve that record, aren't we?" Mikey insisted stubbornly. "C'mon!" Grabbing her wrist, Mikey lead her out of the lair. He snatched up his skateboard on the way out and shouted to the household that they were going topside for some skateboarding. Within seconds they were surrounded by exited mutants, all bearing skateboards. _Great, _Ara couldn't help thinking. _More people to witness my utter failure. _

She had always hated things on wheels. They were so…wobbly and insecure. The thought of all that spinning and rolling was enough to make her stomach turn in worry. Skates, skateboards, roller blades, she disliked them all. And in turn, they disliked her.

They went up their usual manhole, and then scaled a building. Mikey turned to Ara, holding out his board. "Okay, so you…"

"Krang at 6:00!" Donnie called out, peering over the edge of the building.

Mikey groaned, but Ara breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness…." They joined Donnie at the edge of the building, peering over the edge. The Krang were in their usual human suits, loading guns from one van to another. Ara squinted at the guns. The symbol on the side…was it a brain?

"What are they doing?" Leo murmured.

"I dunno, but it's nothing good." Raph replied, whisking out his sai and swirling them rapidly in each hand. "Let's take 'em down."

Leo nodded. "All right. On my count, guys. One, two…" he paused, glancing around him. All of his brothers were already gone, sounds of battle rising from below.

Only Ara remained, waiting for his signal. She grinned. 'They're hopeless, aren't they?"

He shook his head. "You said it. Well, three, I guess."

With a chuckle, Ara launched herself off the building, drawing her sword mid-air and slicing down on a robot's head as she landed. Weaving through a shower of bullets, she knocked the gun out of an attacking Krang's hand, then sliced him in half.

Out of nowhere, three krang droids came crashing into her, pinning her to the ground with strong metal arms. She struggled fruitlessly for a few moments, then froze in horror. Mikey had his back turned as he took on several krang, which gave another alien robot the perfect chance to take him down. The robot snatched up one of the guns they had been loading, took careful aim, then fired. A huge, missal-sized golden bullet shot through the air. Ara tried to scream at Mikey, only to find a hard metal hand clamped firmly over her mouth. The glowing gold bullet struck Mikey square in the back of the head, and he crumpled to the ground. His limbs twitched for a few moments, then he stilled completely.

Ara let out a long, horrified scream. Tears streamed down her cheeks as it hit her: they had just killed her little brother. Brother. Mikey was her brother. The word coursed through her mind. For the very first time, she realized just how true that was. He WAS her brother, and these aliens had just KILLED him.

Suddenly she was filled with anger. No, not anger, rage. She reared her leg and kicked out at the middle krang holding her captive with all her might. It went flying through the air and hit a building on the opposite side of the street with a bang. She flew to her feet, snatching her sword from where it lay and mercilessly slicing the other two until they were nothing but shredded parts.

Her scream had caught the attention of the others, and they had already dealt with the remaining krang and were kneeling beside Mikey's still form.

Ara stared in amazement as she approached, wiping the tears from her eyes. Mikey was lying on his stomach, and the back of his head could be easily seen. But it wasn't crushed like she had thought. In fact, it looked just like normal. Leo turned Mikey over, supporting his head with the crook of his arm. Mikey's chest rose and fell at a good pace. Ara knelt down beside him in awed surprise, not believing her eyes. "I…I don't understand." She started. "I saw the…"

"I know." Ara looked up at Donnie, noticing for the first time the drying tears on his face. "I saw it too. It hit him right…" His words trailed off as he shook his head. "What kind of bullets were they?"

"He's coming around!" Raph exclaimed. Mikey's eyes fluttered open, and he looked around in confusion.

"Mikey, are you all right?" Leo asked in concern, propping him up a little higher.

"What?" Mikey sat up, a bewildered look on his face. "Where…where am I?"

Donnie put a concerned hand on Mikey's forehead, checking for a temperature. "What's the matter, Mikey? Don't you remember?"

"Mikey?" Michelangelo asked in confusion. His eyes widened. "Mikey!?" he looked wildly at his hands, which made his seem more alarmed than ever. He ran his hands over his face, felt along his mask, then looked at himself again. Mikey let out a horrified-sounding groan. "Why does this always happen to ME?!" he moaned. His brothers looking on in confusion, Mikey shook a fist at the sky. "So the rat wasn't enough, eh?! You have to throw THIS at me, too. A little entertainment, huh? Well, I assure you, it is in VERY poor taste!"

Leo blinked. Mikey, what are you TALKING about?!"

Mikey turned to Leo, his big blue eyes as serious as Ara had ever seen them. "I am not Michelangelo."


	19. Chapter 17

_Here's part two. I only hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. :)_

_This chapter starts exactly where the last chapter left of, so you may want to read the last couple of sentences in the previous chapter. _

Mind games Pt. 2

**Leo**

Leo furrowed his brow. "What do you mean, Mikey?"

"I am NOT MIKEY!" Mikey insisted, impatience creeping into his voice.

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Okay…" he said slowly, as if playing along at a game. "Then…if you're not Mikey, who are you?"

"Your father." Mikey said frankly, standing up and dusting himself off.

"So…you mean like Master Splinter?"

"Yes, I mean like Master Splinter! Hamato Yoshi, your father. Somehow I got into Michelangelo's body."

They all stared at him for a few moments, then Donnie spoke. "I think he's delusional."

Ara nodded slowly. "That bullet must have done more damage than we thought."

"I am NOT DELUSIONAL!" Mikey's hands flew up into the air, then locked behind his back as he paced back and forth. They all stood slowly as he began to mutter to himself. "How can I make them believe me? Delusional, pah! To think that I have lived to see the day my students call me 'delusional'!"

That was when Leo noticed something. Though Mikey's voice had remained practically the same, it now had a slight Japanese accent to it, just like Master Splinter's. This wasn't a game. He really thought he was their sensei. Leo approached his brother slowly and put a gentle hand on his shoulder to stop him from pacing. His brother turned to him, his eyes frantic. Leo moved his other hand so that he was grasping both Mikey's shoulders. "We're gonna get you home, okay, Mik…" Mikey gave him a dangerous look, and he switched mid-sentence. "Okay, uh, Master Splinter?"

Mikey looked into his eyes for a few moments, then sighed, his expression softening. He fixed Leo with a fatherly look, which is a little unsettling coming from your little brother. "I can tell you still do not believe me. Very well, I will try another tactic. Ara, your father had a small, star-shaped birthmark behind his left ear. Would Mikey know that?" Ara stared at him, her jaw dropping. "And you told me that one time you had a nightmare that Raph was a coconut."

Raph blinked. "I'm a… coconut…wha?!"

Ara ignored him. "How…" She gestured to Mikey, who smiled and kept talking.

"And all of you got Mikey that new game he's been wanting, but you're saving it for a special occasion. If I was really Mikey, I wouldn't even know that, and it I did, I'd be on my knees begging for it."

They all looked at him quizzically for a few moments, then Leo managed, "Umm, could you excuse us for a moment?" Upon Mikey's… Splinter's? nod, he pulled the rest of the team back a ways and formed a huddle. "So…what do you guys think?"

There was a moment of silence, and then Donnie spoke. "You guys are going to think I'm crazy…but I believe him. I mean, those guns had BRAINS on them. It hit him square in the back of head and he's not even hurt. They obviously have a different purpose besides physical harm. It made Mikey switch minds with Master Splinter."

Leo nodded. "If that's the case…we better get home. That would mean Mikey is…"

He paused, and Ara's eyes widened. "Sewer bunnies. You're right. This is NOT good."

Raph rolled his eyes. "I for one think he's either joking or cracked. C'mon, guys! This sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, not real life!"

Donnie crossed his arms over his chest. "This is coming from a giant talking mutant turtle."

Raph glared at him, and Leo quickly spoke before things could get ugly. "Okay, okay, let's put it to a vote. I vote he really is Splinter."

"Me too." Ara chimed.

Donnie nodded. "And me."

"I vote that you're all crazy." Raph snapped.

"Okay, three yeses and one no." Leo counted. "In any event, we'll know for sure when we get home. Let's get a move on." Leo turned to the orange ninja and called out, "We better get home."

He nodded. "I know." They all headed for the nearest manhole, but Mi…Splinter grabbed hold of Raph's arm as he passed by, flipping him onto his stomach and twisting his arm painfully behind his back. Raph yelped, and Splinter let go, a satisfied look on his face. Raph irritably made a swipe at his head as he rose, but Splinter caught the hand, spinning around and sending Raph sprawling across the asphalt. Leo looked on in amazement as the freckled ninja chuckled before dropping easily through the manhole. The rest followed his lead, Leo pulling the cover in place after him as he leapt leading the way, the turtles hurried through the sewers towards the lair.

Leo noticed a gun in Donnie's hands as they walked. "What's that?"

Donnie looked up from examining it. "A brain gun. I dug it out of one of the vans. It could be useful."

Leo nodded. "True. But be careful with it. I don't want that thing going off."

They reached the lair in record time, slowly slinking into the den. It was absolutely quiet. "Hello?" Leo called out hesitantly. It was a stupid thing to say, but what else was there? Absolute silence greeted his call. "Um…anybody home?"

"I'M HOME!" They all jumped three feet into the air as the giant rat leaped into the room. "GUYS, GUYS, YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE THIS! I'M MASTER SPLINTER! I'M MASTER SPLINTER! I have whiskers! And hair!" The huge, once-dignified rat began jumping up and down in excitement. "And a tail! I have a TAIL! This is SO AWESOOOOOMEE!" The rat's voice had remained the same, so it really looked like their sensei had hit his head. Hard.

"MICHELANGELO!" Splinter bellowed, somehow managing to get a good deal of authority into his new voice.

The rat froze mid-jump, staring at Splinter. "Whoa! It's me!"

"Actually, you two switched minds." Leo informed him.

"Sweet! Can it be reversed? I hope not!" Mikey was suddenly seized with giddiness again, and he began to do cartwheels around the room, giggling the entire time. "Best. Day. EVER!"

Splinter sighed, shaking his head. He trudged to the training room entrance. "Michelangelo, may I speak with you for a moment!"

"Oh. Right." The giant rat leaped up, trotting to the training room after him.

Finally Leo spoke. "He's sure taking this well."

Ara snorted. "That's putting it mildly."

Leo turned to Raph. "I hate to say I told you so…"

"Then don't. Donnie, let's zap 'em with the gun already."

Donnie shook his head, holding the brain gun protectively behind his back. "We are NOT zapping them with the gun…at least not yet. I want to study it first. If we just shoot them without knowing how it works, we'll most likely just mess things up more."

"Oh, come on, Donnie! I don't want a giant rat for a brother! Stop being so cautious and GIVE ME THE GUN!"

"No! Think, Raph! We don't want to…" Raph reached forward, swiping at the gun. Donnie jerked it back, only to have Raph make another grab, this time snatching up the end of the gun. "Raph! Stop it, NOW!" Donnie yanked the gun back again, accidentally squeezing the trigger and sending a sparkling golden bullet barreling into Raph's face.

Raph stumbled back with a gasp, clutching his head before collapsing into a limp heap on the floor. Leo rushed up beside his fallen brother, but just as before, nothing seemed wrong. His breathing rate and pulse were good, and his face looked just like normal. Assured that Raph was more or less fine, Leo let himself groan. "Great. Juuust great."

Donnie and Ara crept up beside him. "Man, Leo. I didn't mean to…"

"I know." Leo held up a hand to silence Donnie. "It was an accident. He was being an impulsive hot head."

"I wonder who HE is now." Ara murmured.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough." Leo sighed tiredly. Suddenly Raph's eyes shot open. Leo reached forward. "Raph! I mean, who are y…" Without warning, Raph lunged forward and socked him in the nose. Leo saw stars, and he struggled to stay conscious. That was a good punch. No, not good, excellent. Who was this guy? Leo rubbed his face, shaking the stars from his vision.

Raph, or whoever he was, had already leaped up and was looking down at himself in horror. "I am a TURTLE!?" Raph growled out, his voice dripping with disgust. He grabbed the nearest living thing to him, which happened to be Donnie, and pinned him to the floor. "How did this happen to me? Speak!" He drew a sai and pressed the blade against the helpless Donnie's neck.

Donnie only had time to whimper before Ara crashed into Raph, shoving him off Donnie and pinning HIM down. "Who are you?" Leo heard her hiss out as she lifted a fist threateningly.

Raph chuckled, not even bothering to struggle against the hold. "What? You haven't figured it out, _Ara Felrane?"_ he said the last words slowly, rolling them around in his mouth before spitting them out. Leo saw Ara's eyes widen in horror. "Still don't know? Well perhaps THIS will remind you!" In one movement, Raph broke away from the hold and punched Ara in the face so hard that she went reeling across the room. She would have hit the hard cement of the floor, but Donnie dove and caught her just in time.

With an outraged roar, Leo fell upon Raph, catching him off guard and knocking him out cold with a single, well-aimed punch. He turned and knelt beside Ara. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm…I'm fine." Ara mumbled, bringing a hand to her face and wincing as she brushed the already-bruising injury. "At least I didn't get a bloody nose this time."

_This time. _Leo suddenly remembered the drying blood on Ara's face when they had rescued her. He had punched her before, the dirty…his fists clenched, and he made himself think of something else. "Are you okay, Donnie?" Donnie nodded, rubbing his throat as he gazed at the still form of his brother.

"What about you?" Ara asked. Leo suddenly became aware of the throbbing in his face.

"Oh, he didn't punch me that hard," he lied, rubbing his nose. He was glad it wasn't a human nose, or it would probably be broken.

"So, he's…" Donnie looked at Raph.

Ara nodded, voicing the name that had been on all of their minds. "Shredder."


	20. Chapter 18

**_Help Wanted: _**_I've been thinking about changing the profile pic for this story to something with Ara in it. Unfortunately, I can't draw worth beans, so I was hoping one of you guys would be nice enough to consider making me one. If it sounds like something you'd be interested in, I'd love to hear from you. It doesn't have to be professional, of course, and I'd really be thrilled if someone would like to give it a shot. I can't GUARANTEE I'd use your pic, but there is a VERY good chance. It could be a picture of a scene in the story, or whatever else you could think up, handmade or made on the computer. So yeah, please think about it._

_In other news, my computer is completely broken; I'll have to get a new one. But my grandma (Who lives across the street from me) has a laptop, which I am using for now. It's sort of old, and I can't tell a comma from a period on Word... please excuse the grammar errors that could have resulted._

_Enjoy! :)_

Mind games Pt. 3

Raph

"Raph, stop it, NOW!" Donnie jerked the gun away from him, and before he could make a grab at it again, gold filled his vision. Gasping in shock, Raph stumbled back. His brain suddenly felt like it was being pulled from his head. He clutched his face as the world started to spin, and then everything went black. Little splotches of gold danced in the darkness, making him dizzy. Everything stilled, and he slowly opened his eyes with a groan.

Raph reached his hand up to rub his head and make sure it was still on his body, but it was stopped by metal. Metal? He was… wearing a helmet of some sort. He slowly lowered his hand, but it wasn't HIS hand, it was… Shredder's. Raph sucked in a sharp breath as it dawned on him: He was Shredder. HE HAD SWITCHED MINDS WITH SHREDDER, just like Mikey and Splinter. Raph suddenly noticed that he couldn't see out of his right eye, and he was sore all over. This guy sure didn't hold back on the battle scars.

But it all made sense. That gold must have been a bullet hitting him, and the moment before he had been thinking: _Wow, why doesn't Donnie trust my judgment? You'd think I was Shredder, for all HE listens._ So the guns must be thought controlled! You think of a person, you trade brains with them. Simple. He had to go find Donnie and tell him.

Raph shot to his feet, sinking back into his seat with a pained gasp as pain shot through one of his legs. Stupid Shredder with his stupid battle…"M…Master Shredder? Is something the matter?" Raph's head shot up, and he looked around him for the first time. He was in Shredder's throne room. April had taken a picture of the inside that one time she had got in, and he recognized it immediately. A strip of stone floor surrounded by pools of water under thick glass stretched before the throne he was sitting on. Swimming in one of the pools was a huge red fish…Xever. And only yards away knelt Dogpound, who was looking at him quizzically. "Is…something the matter, master?" Dogpound repeated, tilting his head like a confused puppy.

"No…" Raph jumped at his own voice. It was the voice he had come to hate, and though he would never admit it, fear. The deep, evil voice sent shivers down his spine even now when he was controlling it. Clearing his voice, Raph made himself continue. "No, um, nothing is the matter, Bradford." _Wait, that wasn't mean enough to be Shredder. Better add something. _"Why would you ask that, yellow-bellied punk? Do I look like a child in need of constant babying, ya stupid fleabag?!" Okay, that didn't sound like Shredder, either. Raph was pretty sure Shredder didn't use the words 'punk' and 'fleabag.'

But Bradford didn't notice. He started to shake. "My apologies, M…"

"Your apologies, eh? Apologies don't cut it. Actions do. Go make yourself useful and get me a…" Raph froze. Get him a what? "A… a…" he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "A raspberry slurpee!"

Dog pound blinked. "A…raspberry slurpee?"

"That's what I said, isn't it? I need to eat like everyone else, don't I? Go, before I decide to put an end to your miserable existence!" Dogpound slunk out of the room, and Raph let out a sigh of relief as the door clicked shut. He was glad his brothers weren't here. A raspberry slurpee? He would have never heard the end of it. Then again, he wasn't going to hear the end of this, anyway. He looked down at himself. Why did it have to be Shredder? He was in the body of the man who killed his father's previous family, and Ara's too. Not to mention hundreds he probably didn't know about. It made him sick to his stomach.

He suddenly wondered what was going on at the lair. It probably wasn't pretty. If Shredder got away, he would know their location… and it would be all his fault. He had to get home. Raph rose, then let out a yelp as pain shot through his bad leg once again. But if Shredder could stand it, he could. He might be a lot of things, but Raph wasn't a wimp. Biting his lip harder with every step, Raph strode across the room and swung open the door. He nearly jumped out of his armor when he found Dogpound standing there, holding the stupid slurpee. _Wow, that was fast_. "Here's your…"

"Yes, yes, thank you!" Raph snatched it out of Dogpound's hand before he realized he couldn't drink it with his helmet on. Ah, well, he'd give it to Mikey later.

"Anything else, Master Splinter?" It dawned on Raph that for the first time in his life he had complete control over Bradford and the foot clan. He could make them go anywhere, do anything. This could be really useful.

"Actually, yes, Bradford...Err...When's the last time you've had a vacation?"

"A vacation?" Bradford shifted uncomfortably. "Umm…never."

"Then we'll have to fix that, won't we? I want you to take a nice, long vacation in…a…Jamaica."

"Jamaica?"

"Yes, yes, you see, I have a new plan to destroy those loathsome turtles. It's FOOLPROOF. But since you have FAILED me time and time again…" he paused to glare at Dogpound, who whimpered slightly and shrank back. This was kinda fun. "Since you have failed me, I want you to take a nice long break beforehand and get into top shape. But I have a reason for sending you to Jamaica. In the seas next to the island, I have buried a secret chest. It has many items in it that are vital to the plan. Xever will do all the diving for you, but I need you to obtain that chest." Raph let the blades of his amour shoot out. "Don't you DARE come home without it, or I will end you. I don't care how long it takes. No go, I want you, Xever, and the foot clan out of the city TONIGHT."

"Y-yes, Master." Dogpound gulped, rushing out of the room. Raph rubbed his hands together in satisfaction. Great. Now Dogpound and the foot were on their way to Jamaica to search for a chest that didn't exist. That otta take them awhile. But in the meantime, he had to get home.

Raph slipped out the door, then slunk down several deserted allies until he was sure he wasn't being followed. Pulling back a manhole, Raph dropped inside, letting out a pained hiss as his bad leg hit the bottom. Raph limped through the sewer, muttering under his breath about having to worry about bad legs at fifteen.

When he got to the outside of the lair, he stopped. Should he really just walk on in? He didn't get a chance to decide, because just then Ara walked out of the lair, rubbing her eyes wearily. "Ara?"

"Gaaaahh!" Ara jumped about three feet into the air at the sound of his voice, drawing her sword even before she finished the alarmed shout.

"No, no Ara! It's me!"

Ara lowered her sword. "Oh. Raph. Of course."

She sheathed her sword, and Raph noticed a dark purple bruise on her right cheek. "Whoa, what happened to you, Ara?"

She fixed him with an angry glare. "You happened."

"Oh. Umm…sorry 'bout that."

"Humph." Ara stepped aside, pointing to the lair. "In."

Raph slunk inside, Ara following after him. Donnie and Leo were in the den, double-checking some knots they had used to tie Shredder up. It was really eerie looking at himself, unconscious and thoroughly bound. But of course it wasn't him, it was…he was interrupted from the thought as Leo and Donnie looked up. Their eyes widened in shock, but just for a moment. Leo's shrank into slits, and he stormed up to Raph. "Raph! Look what you did! This is a horrible mess, and it's all your fault. Why couldn't you have listened to Donnie, for once in your life?! Now we have SHREDDER in our LIVING ROOM. He's unconscious now, but not for long. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Raph winced. "Sorry?"

Shaking his head, Leo turned to Donnie. "We need a blindfold before he wakes up."

"That's easy." Donnie jerked the red mask ends so the mask twisted around, none too gently.

Leo looked at Raph. "To. Your. Room."

Raph made a face, not that Leo could see it behind the helmet or anything. "You're not the boss of me." Leo pointed in the direction of Raph's room, his silent glare saying it all. Raph swallowed. "Yeah, yeah, okay."

He trudged off to the room he shared with Mikey. Raph hadn't been to thrilled with that arrangement at first, but Leo had pointed out that there were two ninjas who cared about a clean room and two who didn't, and it was only reasonable to separate the messy from the neat. Which, he supposed, made sense. He swung open the door to the room to find Splinter…or…Mikey sitting in the middle of the room, his large ears drooping and a single tear trickling down his cheek. "Mikey, what's the matter?"

Mikey looked up, and unlike the others, he didn't even do a double take. "Oh, hey Raph." He sighed dejectedly. "Nothing's the matter."

"Oh, C'mon. You can tell me." Raph sat down next to Mikey. "And, oh yeah, I brought you this." Raph held out the melted slurpee.

"Thanks." Mikey accepted the slurpee, drinking it thoughtfully while Raph waited patiently for him to finish.

Suddenly the house was filled with an outraged roar. Raph smiled tiredly. "That would be me waking up." He froze. "Wait, does Splinter know about this?"

Mikey nodded, never taking his sad eyes from the floor. "Yeah. He helped them with some of the knots, and then said he had a headache. I think he's sleeping."

Raph nodded. "Good. I just hope he slept through that. Of course, if he took on your sleeping habits along with your body, that shouldn't be a problem."

Mikey rolled the empty cup between his hands, not even smiling at the joke. "I miss being me." He sighed finally.

"What? I thought you like being Splinter!"

"Yeah, I do. It's just…what if I never go back? I miss my shell, and my freckles, and I miss stubby and Joey nails and the stinky triplets…"

Raph groaned. "Please, Mikey. Don't bring your toes into this. And you will go back. I think I figured out how the guns work."

"Really? Awesome! I need to get back into my own body ASAP. Pepper didn't even recognize me. But I guess there are some good things about this. I have a waaaay deeper voice than you!"

"Actually, Mikey, I'm pretty sure mine's deeper."

"Whatever. But I have four fingers!"

Raph waved his hand. "Five."

"Great. I finally have a chance to brag, and you go ahead and upgrade, too."

Raph shook his head. "I hardly call this an upgrade. I don't even have a tail…I assume."

He grinned at Mikey, but he was twitching an ear into the air, his brow furrowed. "Listen!"

Raph silenced, straining to hear. "What is it?"

"It's…Shredder." Mikey said, his eyes widening. "He's talking about…" Mikey shuddered, turning away from the sound. "Killing Ara's dad."

Raph sucked in a sharp breath, leaping to his feet. "What?!"

Mikey nodded, then he gasped as his huge ears picked up more. "Whoa. He DID that?! The monster!"

"Stay here." Raph snapped, jerking open the bedroom door and storming into the lair.

His heart sank into his stomach at the scene that awaited him there. Shredder was sneering happily despite his blindfold, giving a gruesome blow-by-blow of exactly how he killed Nao, in thorough detail. Ara was curled up into a ball, her hands pressed over her ears. Her eyes were squeezed shut in agony, and she was shaking like a leaf. Donnie had wrapped his arms around her, steadying her quaking shoulders. Leo stood in a corner, rigid as a pencil. His face was contorted with rage, and his fists clenched and unclenched with the fierce desire to pummel Shredder. Raph found himself wondering why he didn't. Then it hit him: They couldn't. They knew he would feel every one of their punches afterwards when he switched back. They couldn't bring themselves to hit their brother. And while Leo had earlier, that was only because Shredder was up and dangerous. Now his only weapons were words, hardly threatening safety. "And do you want to know what I did NEXT?" Shredder sneered loud enough for Ara to hear despite the hands pressed over her ears. He leaned forward in his binds, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Ara shook her head helplessly. "S-s-stop. P-p-please. Ju-ust S-s-s-s-top." She managed to stammer, tear after tear trickling down her cheeks.

"But it's the best part!" Shredder exclaimed gleefully. "So anyway, he was trapped in a corner, and he couldn't' move because of all those other wounds I told you about, so I drew my sword and pressed it against his throat. He looked up at me and begged me not to hurt you, Ara. He didn't care about himself, up to his dying moment. He only cared about you. Too bad that didn't save him from the death I had planned in my head for so long."

Ara let out a heart-wrenching sob, the broken sound echoing in Raph's ears. Raph saw Donnie squeeze her tighter, and he shifted ever so slightly so that he was between her and Shredder, as if to block her from the evil words. "And do you want to know what I said to him? Do you want to know what the last words your father ever heard were?"

Raph's horrified limbs finally discovered how to move, and he lunged across the room, kneeling beside Shredder and viciously jerking the red mask ends so that he could look him in the eye. Raph's bright, emerald green eyes glared back at him when he did so. It was very unsettling to see the eyes that had once been his dripping with hate, evil, and enjoyment over Ara's suffering. They widened in surprise at the sight of him, but Raph paid no attention to the stare. "Shut your dirty little mouth," he growled out, "or I'll shut it for you."

Shredder's wide eyes narrowed. "Let me guess. You're…"

"Sick and tired of you harassing my family." Raph finished.

"Pretty tough for a snotty little fifteen year old." Shredder snarled.

"YOU'RE the one who's fifteen." Raph countered. "And you're pretty smug for a guy who got himself captured by a couple snotty little teenagers."

Shredder's green eyes flashed, but then he just snarled. "As I was saying, Ara…"

Raph shoved a finger in Shredder's face. "Shut up or face the consequences."

Shredder let out an amused guffaw, and then continued talking. "I warned you…"

Raph raised his fist and was about to swing when a soft voice sounded behind him. "Raph." Raph turned to see Leo, who pointed at his fist pointedly.

Raph looked down at his gloved hand, where metal spikes were embedded in each knuckle. "So?" Raph was so angry right now, he didn't care how much it would hurt him later, as long as he hurt Shredder NOW. He let loose, but Leo grabbed his arm before it made contact, removing the gauntlet himself. _Big brothers. Sheesh. _Raph delivered a swift, hard punch to the face and Shredder's head immediately bobbed over, unconscious. Raph smiled wryly. "I can feel the headache already. Well, I asked for it." He twisted the mask back in front of Shredder's eyes, then slapped some duct tape over his mouth. Raph dusted off his hands, standing up.

His eyes drifted over to Ara, who was still quaking uncontrollably. He tried to imagine what it would be like if Shredder killed his family… Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and Splinter, and then bragged about it in full detail. He shuddered. He couldn't imagine it, he really couldn't. Raph really, really wanted to go up and give her a hug or pat her back or SOMETHING, but Donnie seemed to be doing a good job. Plus, he was pretty sure he wasn't exactly what she needed right now, him being in his present form and all. Donnie looked up at him. "Tell her…" Raph cleared his throat. "Tell her I'm sorry." Donnie nodded with a smile, and Raph headed back to his room.

"Raph?"

Raph stopped, turning slowly around at the soft, sad sound of Ara's voice. He looked at his feet, too embarrassed at being in the body of the man who had put her through so much to make eye contact. "Yeah?"

"There's no reason to apologize. And…" She paused, and Raph slowly looked into her eyes. "Thanks."

"No problem. Tell me if he's any more trouble, okay?" He replied gruffly, trying to hide his relieved smile. She nodded, and he retreated to his room.

"You handled that well." Mikey remarked as he shut the door behind him.

"I thought I told you to stay here!"

"I did." Mikey tapped an ear. "These babies are more useful than they look. No wonder Splinter is always so ticked off when we make lots of noise. I can hear EVERYTHING."

"Yeah, well, get in bed. Something tells me we got a big day tomorrow."

"All right, LEO." Making a rare move and choosing to ignore Mikey's comment, Raph hopped into bed as Mikey did the same. "Ah, man! My feet stick out the bottom!" Mikey whined in dismay.

"Mine too." Just then, both of their beds let out a groan. Raph's eyes widened. "No." As if in response, his bed frame groaned again, only loader. "N-n-n-n-no! Please, no!" His bed let out it's dying screech, then collapsed.

Mikey grinned. "Gained a couple pounds, Raph?" Raph glared at him, and Mikey began to roar with laughter, only to have his bed frame collapse from under him mid-laugh. There was silence a couple seconds before he spoke. "This stinks."

"Ah, bed frames are for wimps, anyway."

"But I LIKED Mr. Woody!"

Raph stared at him. "Honestly?"

"What?"

"Never mind." Shaking his head, Raph settled into his lowered bed. Finally he could rest his tired muscles and just…

"Raph?"

Raph sighed tiredly. "Yeah?"

"Isn't all that armor uncomfortable?"

"Yup, it sure is. But I don't want to look at myself long enough to figure out how to take it off."

"Oh." There was a minute of quiet, and then he spoke again. "I would help, but I'm not good with that sort of thing."

Raph groaned, desperately wanting Mikey to shut up so that he could get some sleep. "I'm sure you would…GOODNIGHT."

"G'night."

This time the pause didn't even last a minute. "Raph?"

"I'm starting to understand why Shredder wasn't Hamato's biggest fan. What IS it?!"

"I could try to get some of it off anyway, that was all I was gonna say." Mikey sniffed.

Raph sighed, forcing his tired, battle-scarred muscles into an upright position. "Okay, go ahead, if it'll help you sleep at night."

Mikey eagerly hopped out of his bed and sat down on he floor next to Raph's. He examined the spiky metal guards protecting Raph's shins with one hand, stroking his new beard with the other. "Ah-ha." Mikey removed his hand from his beard, leaning forward and feeling along the back of the piece of armor. There was a click, and the back opened up, sending the guard clattering to the floor.

Raph let out a relieved sigh, pulling his leg up onto the bed and rubbing it. He hadn't realized just how sore it had made him until it came off. It was like suddenly being able to breathe after an eternity of suffocation. But now that one limb was free, the rest screamed for similar treatment. Mikey immediately went to work on the other leg-guard, quickly loosing it and gently massaging Raph's lower leg himself. His hands slowly danced across the stiff, bad leg, working their magic and soothing the sore muscles. Raph slumped happily against the wall behind his bed, savoring each moment as all the soreness in his legs was drained out. Soon his arms were itching for the same, so he held out an arm to Mikey. "Could you…"

"Sure." After some fiddling, Mikey managed to remove the metal-lower-arm-thingamajigs and the spiky-shoulder-something-or-others, as he called them. After giving his arms a good rub, Mikey figured out a way to take off every other piece of metal from Raph's body until his attire had been reduced to pants and an undershirt. "Do you want me to…?"

Raph opened one of his pleasantly closed eyes, found that it was the blind one, and opened the other one. Mikey was pointing at his helmet questioningly. Raph shook his head. "I will. AFTER the lights were out."

Nodding, Mikey hopped to his feet and turned off the lights, plunging the room into darkness. Raph heard Mikey's mattress squeak as he lay down in it, and he removed his helmet, then did the same. Raph was almost asleep when Mikey's voice pierced the air once more. "Raph?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"I love you."

Raph smiled drowsily, allowing sleep to take over. But not before he had voiced his reply: "I love you too, little bro.'

And so for the first time in a long while, Hamato Yoshi and Oroko Saki were friends. :)


	21. Chapter 19

_H-hi, guys. What's it been, three, four months? Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! I just got a new computer a couple days ago, so now you can expect much more frequent updates; once a week, I'm hoping._

_ The problem at hand: do you guys remember anything? Pop quiz: Who is Ara? _

_Anyway…you may want to go back a couple chapters and refresh your memory. If you have any questions about things you forgot, PM me and I'll be more than happy answer._

_They have a "brain gun" and Mikey accidentally switched minds with Splinter, and so did Raph and Shredder, as I hope you recall. Now Donnie has the brain gun and he's inspecting it for safety reasons before switching them back. SO, go back it you need to, but here's the next chapter. Enjoy! _

_PS: This chapter may be a bit…err…disturbing to some people, but I couldn't resist writing it. Please remember that this is rated K+, and keep all thoughts on that level. You'll see what I mean when you read it. O.o_

_PPS: the new picture was drawn by the very talented PunkprincessHP. It's a drawing of Ara before she was mutated and after. I'll fix it soon so you can see the entire thing, but before I figure that out I wanted to give you the much-delayed chapter: _

Donnie

Donnie squinted at the parts of the carefully dismantled brain gun, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. The design was surprisingly obvious, yet remarkably complex. He had never gotten a chance to look inside a Krang's gun before, and now some of his burning questions had been answered. For example, he had always wondered how the Krang had a seemingly endless amount of bullets. Now he had discovered how. The guns had an enormous amount of alien potential energy, and the gun used it to make more bullets out of NOTHING BUT THE WEIRD, STORED UP ENERGY. It was remarkable…too bad no one but him appreciated this sort of thing.

The new endless-bullet theory had his mind spinning. He could make tons of stuff off this idea! This meant groundbreaking weapon designs! The biggest thing since the light bulb! The friggin' FUTURE OF NINJETSU! Donnie reminded himself of how metal head had turned out before he could start hyperventilating. But then again, he couldn't use the idea. Alas, he faced the same problem Da Vinci had when he tried to make the helicopter…a lack of the future's materials and technology. The guns used a special kind of energy that he sadly didn't know how to create. Ah, well, there would be other ideas, other inspirations.

With a sigh, Donnie started piecing the gun back together. Raph had told him this morning about the think-about-someone-then-switch-minds-with-them-if -shot theory. He had apparently been thinking about Shredder right before he was shot, and upon questioning, Mikey had admitted that he had been trying to remember exactly how Splinter had told him to do a particular move when he switched minds. Donnie had checked out the gun as an extra caution, and now he was convinced that that was the way it really worked…simply think of someone and get shot in the head.

Donnie glanced at the clock: 2:47 PM. He had really wanted to show April Mikey in Splinter's body and Raph in Shredder's. It was a pretty funny sight to see Splinter skateboarding through the lair, and he knew she would get a kick out of it. But Raph had been bellyaching every second about wanting to get back into his own body, and poor Splinter had been in his room all day. It had to be hard to be put in an entirely new body for the second time in your life, especially when it was your son's. And to have the man who killed your family in your living room? He had tortured them long enough. It was time to switch back.

Donnie twisted the front of the gun into place, then turned it on, looking at it musingly. Too bad, though. April would have…"Is it ready?" Shredder's voice sounded behind him, and Donnie jumped, the gun clattering to the floor.

Donnie ignored it, spinning around. "Raphael! How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?! Especially now, with that stupid voice of yours!"

Raph didn't pay the steaming turtle any attention, his eyes locked on something behind him. "Uh, Donnie? Is the gun supposed to do that?"

Donnie whirled around, still shaken by Raph's surprise greeting. The gun was quaking and trembling, the symbol on the side flickering uncertainly. "No, it's not! I'll have to fix it…great going, Raph!" Donnie stooped over, reaching for the gun. It looked like April would get to see everyone, after all.

Without warning, the gun fired, a golden bullet flying into Donnie's face. "Ahhh!" Donnie tumbled back as little black dots began to dance in front of his eyes. He tripped over something, crashing to the floor. The black dots grew, soon covering his entire vision.

The last thing he heard before the spinning started was Shredder's deep voice cursing. "Not Donnie, too! Leo! Ara! Come h…"

The voice faded away, leaving Donnie spinning through space, little splotches of gold flying all around him. The spinning worsened, and Donnie became so dizzy he feared he was going to throw up. Suddenly it all stopped, and the dizziness left him so swiftly it knocked the breath out of him.

Donnie slowly opened his eyes with a small groan, looking around him. He was sitting on the floor beside a desk in a bright, airy classroom. Wait…a classroom? Donnie's heart stopped beating. No. No. No. No. Nooooooooooooo. He managed to glance down at himself, and then he collapsed into a heap on the floor, his worst fear confirmed. Why? Why? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE APRIL?! Anyone but April. AnyTHING.

"Miss O'Neil!" Donnie was interrupted from his inward lament by a sharp, disapproving voice. He glanced up to find a prim little teacher standing over him, peering at him from over her glasses. She was dressed in a spotless white blouse and crisp gray skirt, her graying brown hair pulled into a tight, perfect bun. Her shiny black heels were the same color as the onyx broach on the center of her chest. "Do you need to see the nurse?"

"N-no." Donnie started to stammer, letting out a squeak and clasping his hands over his mouth when he heard April's voice burst out of it.

"Well, then get off the floor, for heaven's sake!"

"Yes Ma'am." Donnie leaped to his feet, sliding into the closest empty desk.

The teacher glared at him. "One more stunt like that and you'll be in the principal's office. Do you want that?"

"N-no, ma'am."

"Good. Now…" The teacher walked briskly to the front of the room and continued her lesson. Not that anyone was paying attention… they were all too busy staring at Donnie with whispered comments and suppressed giggles. Donnie slid deep into his seat, trying to control his crimson blush.

April was not going to be pleased. He grimaced when he thought of where April was now, and even more so when he wondered how she'd kill him: in boiling oil or by cutting him into very small pieces. He tried to get his mind off it by looking down at his hands. He had ten whole fingers! Well, they didn't seem like whole fingers to him, more like fractions of fingers. But ten! What was he supposed to DO with all of them?

"Miss O'Neil? MISS O'NEIL!"

"Wha? Oh, umm, yes?"

A boy with sandy blonde hair and cruel blue eyes snickered, turning around in his seat to face Donnie. "Didn't get enough bananas today, APEril?"

Most of the girls in the room started laughing uncontrollably at his comment, like he had just said the cleverest thing ever. "Oh, you're so FUNNY, Luke!" One gushed, batting her eyelashes.

"Enough, Lucas!" The teacher snapped, turning to a red Donnie. "Now, April, when did the Civil War start?"

"On April 12, 1861," Donnie mumbled.

The teacher blinked in surprise. "That's…correct, April. I was only looking for the year, but well done. When did it end?"

"On May 9, 1865." Donnie said, enjoying how easy the questions were to him. "But the last shot wasn't fired 'til June 22 of the same year." The teacher's eyebrows shot up, and she peppered him with questions until the bell rang, Donnie getting every one of them right.

As everyone was filing out, the teacher pulled him aside. "I must admit I'm very impressed, April. How did you know all that?"

Donnie blushed at the praise. "Well, I've always kinda liked the Civil War. It meant the end of slavery, and lots of people realized that even though Africans look a little different from whites on the outside, they're still just normal people who deserve to be treated like everyone else." He smiled sadly. "But there is always something people won't accept. We're too afraid of things that are different from us. It's just our nature, I guess. I doubt we'll really ever change. It's a shame, too." _Especially for the mutants living in the sewers, _he couldn't help adding inwardly.

The teacher nodded thoughtfully, snapping her briefcase shut. "True. Well, have a good weekend, O'neil."

Donnie nodded, heading out the door. He was almost trampled by the swarm of kids going everywhere when he did so. Rowdy shouts filled he air.

"Wanna go to my house tonight?"

"Ready for the big game?"

"That was sick, Jeremy!"

Donnie pressed himself against a wall, waiting for the hall to clear a bit before he headed home. He HAD to get home, even though he didn't think the scene would be pretty. "I VOLENTEER! I VOLENTEER AS TRIBUTE!"

"Gaah!" Donnie jumped as a girl leaped up next to him, shouting the phrase in his ear. The girl's dark blonde hair was pulled into a less-than-perfect ponytail, and she was wearing jeans and a slightly wrinkled GO VIKINGS! T-shirt. She had glasses over her hazel eyes, and a tiny sprinkle of freckles dotted her nose. Definitely a breathe of fresh air compared to the giggling, perfectly dressed girls he had been seeing lately.

"I can't wait for Catching Fire! Want to go with me when it comes out?"

"Umm…sure…Cassidy." Donnie crossed his fingers, hoping that this was April's best friend that she was always talking about. The girl just grinned, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him through the crowd, so he assumed it was.

"Hey, APEril." Donnie winced at the now-familiar voice, turning to face Luke. "You did pretty well back here in history…nerd."

Donnie's nose twitched up o form a snarl, his fists clenching at his sides. Cassidy grasped his arm tighter, tugging him forward. "C'mon, April. Just ignore him."

"You must be pretty smart to remember all those facts. Too bad you're not smart enough to get a plastic surgery." Donnie whirled back around, his face turning hot with anger. How DARE he say that stuff about April! Luke just sneered. "Oh, that's right. You can't afford a surgery because your dad got kidnapped by a bunch of meanie aliens. Wow. You're such a retard to have though up that." Donnie saw red, and his breathe turned ragged with rage. "Since you can't afford a surgery, at least do us all a favor and get a bag to hide your face in. Or at the very LEAST a bag to cover up that hideous red hair."

If Donnie had thought about it, he probably wouldn't have done it. Probably. But for once in his life, Donatello didn't think. With a roar, he lunged forward and punched Luke in the nose.

Luke doubled over, a couple drops of blood dripping from his nostrils. "You BROKE my NOSE!"

"Oh." Donnie pulled him upward by his hair. "Let me fix that for you." He twisted the nose with a vicious tweak. "There."

With an outraged howl, Luke attempted to plow through Donnie's middle with his head, which Donnie easily sidestepped. Before long they were having a full-blown scuffle, limbs flying every which way. Not very strategic or ninja-like, Donnie thought, but a heck lot more satisfying.

"Okay, okay, BREAK IT UP!" A muscular man whom Donnie assumed was the PE teacher pulled them apart from each other at arm's length, both of them still fruitlessly swinging at the other. The man dragged them down the hall and dropped them each into a seat…at the office. "Principal Poppydiar?" He called.

"Yes?" The principal walked into the room, her eyes widening at the scene before her. She rushed up to Luke. "Lucas! What HAPPENED to you, sweetheart?"

"T-that girl!" Luke sniffed, even though he had been fine two seconds previous. "I told her how smart she was, but I think she's one of those gangsters who don't think that's cool, so she snuck up behind me when I wasn't looking and PUNCHED me! See?" Luke pointed to a blackening eye.

Donnie raised an eyebrow. "I snuck up BRHIND you and punched you in the EYE? That's not physically possible!"

Luke ignored him. "Then her f-f-friend there…" Luke paused to point at Cassidy, who was peering from the hallway at the scene. "Her friend held me down and April punched me over and over and over and I got this bloody nose." Luke let a tear roll down his cheek. Man, he was good at this. "I thought I was gonna…gonna…DIE! Luke sobbed, erupting in tears.

"Oh, there, there." Principal Poppydiar pulled Luke into a hug. "Mommy's here for you." Wait…mommy? She was Luke's MOM? He. Was. DEAD. When the principal finally pulled away, she glared at Donnie. "How dare you?!"

Donnie shrank back. "He was lying! He insulted Apr…I mean me and so I came at him, but Cassidy didn't hold him down and he fought back just fine and I didn't even fight my hardest and I didn't sneak…"

"ENOUGH!" The principal roared. "Are you calling my son a liar?"

"But it's true." Cassidy stepped into the room, bravely putting herself on the line for Donnie.

"Oh, and I suppose you are this… this delinquent's friend that held my son down, aren't you?"

Cassidy paused, and Donnie caught her eye, silently shaking his head. Just because he was in trouble didn't mean she had to be. "Yes!" Cassidy declared anyway. "I mean, I didn't hold Luke down, but I AM April's friend and she IS telling the truth."

"Lies!" Principal Poppydiar hissed. "Wait here." The principal walked into her office and shut the door with a slam.

Luke turned to Donnie. "You are in SOOO much trouble!" he whispered with a sneer, though Donnie noticed he kept his distance. Donnie bit his lip, turning his head and blocking out the jeering words that followed…which is what he probably should have done the first time around. Who knew what kind of horrible punishments he was getting April into? The principal stepped out of her office, and Luke immediately stopped taunting and put on his "kicked puppy" face.

"Now." The principal said sternly, clasping her hands behind her back. "You both have pretty much spotless records so far, so I am going to go easy on you." Donnie and Cassidy let out a sigh of relief. "One hour of after-school detention for the rest of this and next month. Count yourselves lucky I am choosing not to expel you.

"What?!" Donnie and Cassidy gasped in horror, their eyes widening.

The principal fixed them with a dangerous look, so Donnie hung his head, deciding that humility was the best course on this particular case. "Tomorrow detention will take place in the detention room, but today I want to keep an eye on you, so detention is here…and it starts now. Come on Lucas, lets get you washed up." The principal sniffed, ushering her son into the office restroom.

With a groan, Donnie and Cassidy settled into their seats and prepared themselves for a long wait.

Note: I realize I technically should call Donnie a she, (For example, I said ' the teacher glared down at HIM', not HER,) but this way is slightly less disturbing. ;)


End file.
